(TibetanReview.net, Oct25’23) – Members of the New Zealand cricket team and their families have on Oct 24 visited His Holiness the Dalai Lama at his Thekchen Choling residence at McLeod Ganj after their Oct 22, and ahead of their Oct 28, World Cup cricket matches at the picturesque local cricket ground.
The Dalai Lama, the global face of the Tibetan exile movement, spent around an hour interacting with players and sharing notes, besides playfully tickling someone’s beard, or patting another gently on the cheek or nose, an expression of his genuine love for others, reported the IANS news service Oct 24.
Some players sought his blessings. The Dalai Lama enjoyed meeting them, the report cited a functionary in the Dalai Lama’s office as saying.
His Holiness also obliged them by allowing them to get themselves photographed with him, he has added.
The New Zealand team is scheduled to play against Australia at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association stadium in Dharamsala in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup on Oct 28.
New Zealand had aggregated eight points to emerge as one of the top contenders to win the ongoing tournament before suffering their first, four-wicket loss in a closely fought Oct 22 match against India.
The Blackcaps took to ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) to post a beautiful picture and captioned it as, “A privilege to meet His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama at his residence in Dharamsala this morning. Images courtesy of the Office of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama,” noted indiatvnews.com Oct 24.