Lanka back in Lahore, 8 years after bus attack
LAHORE: Tens of thousands of security will be deployed in Lahore on Sunday when Sri Lanka become the first major cricket team to visit Pakistan since they were targeted in a deadly ambush in 2009 -- with attack survivors among those returning to the scene. Several players and officials, including their head coach, have opted out of the fixture, after some voiced concern about security following ongoing militant attacks.
Pakistan’s Ahsan Raza, a reserve umpire in 2009 who was among those shot -- and needed emergency surgery will also be on the field.
Eight people were killed and eight wounded in the March 3, 2009 attack on Sri Lanka’s bus convoy near the Gaddafi Stadium, an incident which brought cricket tours to Pakistan screeching to a halt.
Eight years later, Sri Lanka will become the first top cricket nation to play in Pakistan since the incident, accelerating a gradual resumption of international fixtures as security improves.
Sunday’s match, comes after Lahore also hosted this year’s Pakistan Super League final and a one-off fixture between Pakistan and a World XI last month.
Raza was wounded when Pakistani militants targeted a bus carrying officials, killing the driver. Another bus’s driver was hailed as a hero after shepherding the players to safety under a hail of bullets.
“It’s a great honour that I will be umpiring in the match which is bringing Sri Lanka back to Lahore,” he told AFP.
NEW BEGINNING
Sunday’s Twenty20 international is being hailed as a brave decision by Sri Lanka and a milestone for Pakistan as it attempts to end its sporting isolation. Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Najam Sethi called it a “historic moment”, pointing out a generation of fans have grown up without seeing any international games in their home stadiums.
“Our stadiums have remained empty. Now all that is poised to change, for the better... I foresee a full fledged restoration in the next two years,” he told AFP.
PCB officials are already setting their sights on bringing the West Indies to Pakistan for three T20 internationals next month.
But Sri Lanka’s visit was not fully backed by its players with many regulars opting out.
Stand-in skipper Thisara Perera, who played in Lahore last month as part of the World XI team, said he had no concerns about safety.
“I am really satisfied with the security, so no problems there,” he told AFP.
Fans are also applauding Sri Lanka’s decision to return to Lahore. The country’s most famous supporter, Sufi Jalil, fondly known as “Chacha Cricket”, was himself on the way to Gaddafi Stadium when the attack took place in 2009.
“They are welcome,” he said of Sri Lanka.