'Nervy' Bond was dying to fly home after Bangalore blasts

Published>Fri, Apr 23 10 05:56 PM

Wellington, April 23 (IANS) A 'nervy' New Zealand and Kolkata Knight Riders fast bowler Shane Bond was desperate to fly back home after the Bangalore bombings.

Bond, who was in India for the Indian Premier League (IPL), said he just wanted the tournament to get over and done with and leave.

Two low-intensity explosions, one at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium and the other half a kilometre away, before the start of an IPL match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians Saturday, caused panic among the spectators.

Bond said he felt for his New Zealand teammate Ross Taylor, who was playing for the home side that day.

'I was nervous, but for him it was a different level,' Bond, who spoke to Taylor by phone that day, was quoted as saying in New Zealand Herald.

'It (the Bangalore bombing) definitely made me more nervy. We went over there with the threat, I guess, but when that happened it became a reality.'

'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.'

Bond's Kolkata teammate Brendon McCullum also admitted the apprehension levels rose as the shock waves from the Bangalore bombings reverberated around the IPL.

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

Source: Web Search