On This Day - March 3, 2009: A Dark Day For International Cricket As Sri Lankan Cricketers Attacked By Terrorists

Sri Lanka was on tour to Pakistan in 2009. It was the third morning of the second Test at Lahore. The first Test in Karachi was a high scoring draw. The Sri Lankan cricketers were on their way to the Gaddafi Stadium in their team bus when a group of masked terrorists attacked them. Five Sri Lankan players, including captain Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, the vice-captain were injured. The other three players were Ajantha Mendis, Thilan Samaraweera and Tharanga Paravitarana. Six security personnel and two civilians were killed in the ghastly attack by the terrorists.

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The attack sent shockwaves across the cricketing, sporting and political world. The Lahore Test was cancelled and the tour called off. The Sri Lankan players were evacuated from the Gaddafi stadium and taken to a nearby airbase. There had been terror strikes before on the sidelines of cricket but this was the first time that players were directly targeted. The attack was the first major strike against an international sporting team since 11 athletes from Israel were killed by Palestinian terrorists at the 1972 Munich Olympics.

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According to official reports, 12 gunmen hid behind Liberty Square in the central part of Lahore and were waiting for the Sri Lankan team on route to the Gaddafi Stadium. The terrorists first shot at the wheels and then the players sitting in the bus.

The incident had a devastating effect for cricket in Pakistan and in the relations of the Pakistan Cricket Board and the parent boards of other cricketing nations. It followed a series of other such attacks which left Pakistan isolated in the cricketing fraternity. New Zealand had cancelled their tour to Pakistan in 2002 after a bomb had exploded outside the Sheraton Hotel in Karachi where they were staying.

The BCCI had called off a scheduled tour of India to Pakistan in 2009 following the terror attacks in Mumbai in 2008. Sri Lanka had confirmed to tour the country after India had cancelled. The 2009 Champions Trophy was taken away from Pakistan as was their status of co-hosts for the 2011 World Cup – their matches were re-allocated between India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.