Tamim Iqbal accepts that the team is traumatised by the Christchurch terror attack

The entire Bangladesh team and the staff touring New Zealand have now left the country after the firings that unfolded near the Hagley Oval, on Friday, March 15. While the world was taken aback by the horrific incident, one of the closest witnesses of the terror attack at the Al Noor mosque was the Mahmudullah led Bangladesh team, playing a three-match Test series against the Blackcaps. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern declared it as a ‘terrorist attack’ and ‘one of New Zealand’s darkest days’.

After the cricketers from the visiting team realized the nature of the episode that had unleashed at the Deans Avenue, right in front of their eyes, they had no other choice but to run for their lives. They first ran towards the Hagley Oval, which would’ve been the venue for the 3rd Test, and stayed inside the dressing room. Later the police helped them back to their hotel rooms. Consequently, the remainder of the Test series was cancelled. 

In light of the terrifying incident, the  BCB president Nazmul Hasan expressed that he was upset by the fact that no security was provided to his touring team and staff. Meanwhile, the Bangladesh team has been safely escorted out of the terror-stricken New Zealand. As of now, the Bangladesh cricket team left Christchurch, the venue of the brutal shootout that was carried out at two different mosques, resulting in deaths of at least 49 people and injury to several others. 

The BCB and NZC boards spent no further time before making arrangements for the Bangladesh team and staff’s safe departure from the country. The security was immediately heightened as they escorted the team from the hotel to the airport. What the Bangladesh team manager Khaled Mashud described as “being in a movie” has left the team traumatized, to say the least.

Tamim Iqbal speaks about the impact of the incident

Veteran batsman Tamim Iqbal believes that it will take some time for the team to recover from that they had to undergo following their precarious encounter of the firings that took place at the Al Noor Mosque in Christchurch on Friday. 

“It will certainly take some time for us to get out of it following the experience that we had here,” Tamim told reporters at the airport on Saturday. “It is better that we are returning back to our family because everyone’s family is worried. I just hope after returning home we can overcome it [trauma] with the passing of time,” Tamim was quoted saying.

Get the latest Cricket News and updates, Match Predictions, Fantasy Cricket Tips and lots more on CricTracker.com.