Dear (s)
It could turn out to
be a very dark day for Cricket and International Sports. (this is what I circulated to my group of
friends through e-mail in the morning of
3rd March 2009)….. here is the same reproduced here :
The cricketers of
Lanka have had a great time on the field thus far in their tour of the troubled
Pakistan. Yesterday at Gadaffi stadium,
Thilan Samaraweera notched up his second
successive Test double century following his 231 in the First Test at Karachi. Thilan became the sixth batsman after Walter Hammond, Don
Bradman, Vinod Kambli, Kumar Sangakkara and Graeme Smith to score successive
double centuries in Test matches.
But
today is a rank bad day. Going by the Flash Reports, unidentified
gunmen opened fire on a bus carrying Sri Lankan cricket team as they were on
their way to Gaddafi stadium in Lahore on Tuesday morning, Dawn news channel
reported. The channel showed footage of two gunmen opening fire using
Kalashnikovs. Four policemen are reported
dead, three more are seriously injured and have been rushed to the hospital.
The attackers exploded two bombs and men started firing at a police van which
was providing security to the Lankan team.
The gunmen, reportedly surrounded the team van and opened fire
indiscriminately. The gunmen reportedly fired continuously for two to three minutes.
Seven players have
been reported injured (Samaraweera has
been identified as one ) - two of them
are reported to be seriously injured.This certainly is not CRICKET; could jeopardize
the relations between the Countries and could have deep impact on cricket tours
to Asia which are fast perceived as terrorism torn countries.
With regards – S.
Sampathkumar
It did sound the a death-knell for Cricket tours to Pakisthan. Gaddafi stadium is in Lahore, designed in
1959. The ground was renovated for the
1996 Cricket World Cup when it hosted the final. It is also the largest cricket
stadium in Pakistan with a capacity of 62,250 spectators.
Later news reports revealed that 12 gunmen were
hiding near Liberty Square, in the centre of Lahore, waiting for the Sri Lankan
team to pass on their way to the Gaddafi stadium. When the bus crossed the road
they started firing, targeting the bus. The Pakistan police escorting the team
returned fire; in the ensuing fighting, six policemen and two civilians died. The gunmen had first targeted the wheels of
the bus, and then had fired at the bus and its occupants. The attackers had fired a rocket at the bus,
which missed and hit a nearby electric pole. The driver of the bus, kept on driving a distance of about 500 metres
(1,600 ft) until they reached the stadium. Khalil was hailed as a hero for his
bravery. A minivan following the team
bus carrying the match referee and umpires was also fired upon and the driver
was killed.
The Sri Lankan team were then taken to the stadium
and airlifted from the pitch via Pakistan Air Force Mil Mi-17 helicopters, and immediate arrangements were made for the
Sri Lankan team to return to Colombo on the next available flight. The second Test, which was the last scheduled
fixture of the tour, was abandoned as a draw.
The safety of touring cricket teams in Pakistan had
long been in issue. In May 2002, New Zealand abandoned their Test series in
Pakistan after a suicide bomb attack outside their hotel. In fact, the Sri Lankan cricket team was in
Pakistan as a replacement for the Indian team, who had pulled out after the
Mumbai attacks and Pak had offered to arrange "presidential-style
security. Pakistan have had to play their “home” matches in venues ranging from
Dubai to London ever since that shooting.
That terror attacks on the Sri Lankan cricketers made
cricket insurance more expensive in the Indian subcontinent. Risk perception
for the entire Indian sub-continent — India, Bangladesh, Pakistan andSri Lanka
— nosedived with the threat of terrorism.
_________________________________________________________________________________
No comments:
Post a Comment