Bangalore bombings definitely made me more ‘nervy’: Bond

CHRISTCHURCH - New Zealand fast bowler Shane Bond has admitted that his last few days in India were “nervy” following the bomb blasts outside M. Chinnaswamy stadium, that hosted an Indian Premier League (IPL) match in Bangalore on April 17.

Bond, who along with New Zealand wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum played for the IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders, was thousands of kilometres from Bangalore, but insisted that the incident brought the issue of players’ safety into the spotlight.

“It [the Bangalore bombings] definitely made me more nervy. We went over there with the threat, I guess, but when that happened it became a reality,” The New Zealand Herald quoted Bond, as saying.

“We had one game left at that stage and knew we couldn’t qualify for the semifinals, so we just wanted to get out of there, really,” he added.

He further said that he felt for his New Zealand teammate Ross Taylor, who was playing for the home side, Royal Challengers Bangalore, that day.

“I was nervous, but for him (Taylor) it was a different level,” Bond said.

All the IPL players were meant to stay on until the closing ceremony on Monday morning, but Bond and McCullum were given dispensation to travel home to their families.

The explosions came a day after the United States issued a travel alert in which it warned: “The U.S. government continues to receive information that terrorist groups may be planning attacks in India”.

Earlier, several cricket-playing countries had warned their players about participating in the IPL, citing security threats in India. (ANI)