After eight and a half years, Sri Lanka will be returning to Pakistan for an international match. The third and final T20 between Pakistan and Sri Lanka will be held in Lahore on 29 October.
On 3 March 2009, cricket in Pakistan changed forever when a group of militants attacked the Sri Lankan team bus, when they were en route to the Gaddafi stadium in Lahore for a Test match.
Five Sri Lankan players were injured in the incident and the players were taken back home as fast as they possibly could.
And thereafter, no top international visited Pakistan. The country had to move their home ground to the United Arab Emirates to continue playing international cricket.
But now, the tide seems to have changed.
Zimbabwe is the only international side to travel (in 2015) to Pakistan in all these years. However, the hope of international cricket returning to Pakistan were enhanced when the country hosted a successful three-match T20 series between World XI and Pakistan last month.
What Happened on the Day?
In a place near the Liberty market, 12 terrorists attacked the Sri Lankan team bus with hand grenades and guns. The then captain Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara, Ajantha Mendis, Thilan Samaraweera and Tharanga Paravitarana were the group of players who got injured. Six security men and two civilians were killed during the incident.
The bus came under attack as we were driving to the stadium, the gunmen targeted the wheels of the bus first and then the bus. We all dived to the floor to take cover. About five players have been injured and also Paul Farbrace.Mahela Jayawardene as quoted by ESPNCricinfo
The Sri Lankan players were airlifted from the Gaddafi stadium to an airbase. The remainder of the series was cancelled immediately.
The entire squad was flown out at 10 pm to Colombo.
Thilan (Samaraweera) has a shrapnel wound in his leg, but he is fine. (Tharanga) Paranavitana had shrapnel in his chest, but thank God it wasn’t very deep and just on the surface. I had shrapnel injuries in my shoulder, but they have all been removed and I’m okay now. Ajantha (Mendis) had shrapnel in his neck and scalp, but he too has had medical attention and is fine. Everyone else is perfectly all right.Kumar Sangakkara as quoted by ESPNCricinfo
Thilan Samaraweera and Tharanga Paravitarana incurred more serious injuries.
Ajantha Mendis sits in an ambulance after arriving at Colombo airport on early Wednesday.
Mahela Jayawardene walks with his wife, Christina Sirisena, out of the Colombo airport terminal.
CCTV Footage – Gunmen Leave After Shooting at the Sri Lankan Team Bus.
Ammunition recovered from the site.
The Bus Driver – Hero of the Day
When the militants were in complete control of the situation, the Sri Lankan players were in the hands of a Pakistani bus driver – Meher Khalil.
Khalil was shot, but he still kept his composure and drove the team bus to the stadium.
Initially I thought that they were Lahorites and were celebrating with the firecrackers. But when two people came towards me and started firing at me then I realised that it was some other kind of work. Thank God I kept my confidence and dashed them (the players) safely to the stadium.Meher Khalil as quoted by Daily Mail
The bus driver was felicitated by the Sri Lanka Cricket Board after a month in Colombo.
Khalil gives a present to Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara.
After the incident, Khalil used the cash prize and private donations to start his own company. As of May 2015, his company had three buses which carried passengers from Lahore and Islamabad, according to Daily Mail.
Fate of the Militants
Six persons had been charged by an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in 2016 for being linked to the attacks on the Sri Lankan players. The persons were known as Qari Zubair alias Naik Mohammad, Adnan Arshad, Abdul Wahab, Javed Anwar, Ibrahim Khalil and Obaidullah, according to Dawn.
In August 2016, three of the militants – Qari Zubair, Adnan Arshad and Abdul Wahab were killed in an encounter.
Lashkar-i-Jhangvi chief Malik Ishaq, who was supposedly the mastermind behind the attack on Sri Lanka’s team bus also died in a police encounter.
Obaidullah and Ibrahim Khalil was acquitted by an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in June 2017. These two persons were charged for providing arms and training the millitants.
Aftermath
The biggest effect that Pakistan had to face immediately was that they were removed as one of the hosts for the 2011 World Cup.
Can Pakistan become a regular feature in an international fixture? It’s Sri Lanka who took the first step, and the rest of the teams’ decisions will shed more light on the situation.