Shikhar Dhawan condemns New Zealand mosque attack

India opener Shikhar Dhawan has condemned the mass shooting in New Zealand’s Christchurch that has left the entire world shocked and aghast. Just around a month ago, Dhawan along with his teammates was in New Zealand for the T20I and the ODI series. A picturesque and one of the most peaceful nations on the planet, New Zealand is adored by cricketers and the fans across the globe.

However, the nation lying way down in the southern hemisphere fell victim to a dastardly mass shooting on Friday that claimed the lives of 49 innocent people and left dozens injured.  Two mosques in Christchurch were targeted during prayers, with a 28-year-old man identifying himself as Brenton Tarrant killing 41 at the Al Noor Mosque. A further seven people were killed at a mosque in nearby Linwood, while another died in hospital.

Unsurprisingly, the world is yet to fathom how could something as cruel as the recent incident happened that too in a country which prioritise happiness and peace above anything else. Ever since the attack took place, the cricketing world has come forward to show solidarity with the nation. The likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and several other stalwarts along with the cricket fans have joined hands to lay their support to the people affected by the attack.

Dhawan too has shown his support for New Zealand. The India opener took to Twitter to express his sadness over the turn of events before stating that he is praying for the families of the those who lost their lives.

“Went to New Zealand recently. It’s such a beautiful and peace loving country. Sad to hear about what happened there. Praying for the families of the deceased. 🙏,” wrote Shikhar Dhawan.

Here is Dhawan’s tweet

‘We were really lucky’:

The cricketing world would have feared the worst when videos and reports came out showing Bangladesh players hurriedly walking away from the mosque where the shooting was taking place. Several players and staff members were about to leave the bus and enter the mosque when they changed their mind after hearing gunshots. Upon realising what was going on, the players and the staff members quickly left the bus and walked to safety.

“This was a kind of accident that we would never expect nor want in any part of the world,” Khaled Mashud, the team manager, told reporters at the team hotel.

“We are very lucky because we had a number of us, about 17 of us, in the bus. Soumya Sarkar was also there, and we were all heading to the mosque for prayers. Only two of the players [Liton Das and Nayeem Hasan, as well as Sunil Joshi, the spin-bowling coach] had stayed back in the hotel, and rest of the squad had gone there. We were very close to the mosque, and we could see from the bus. We must have been about 50 yards from the mosque,” he added.

Meanwhile, the third Test between Bangladesh and the hosts has been called off. The Test was scheduled to get underway on March 16.

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