March 3, this day is called the black day in the history of cricket. On this day in 2009, there was a terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team on Pakistani soil. Even today that horrific scene is in the minds of Sri Lankan players.
The Sri Lankan cricket team toured Pakistan in 2009. When the Sri Lankan cricket team was traveling by bus in Lahore, they were violently attacked by terrorists. It was an event that shook the whole world. The amount of condemnation of this cowardly act will be less.
Sri Lankan cricket team bus attacked by terrorists near Gaddafi Cricket Stadium in Lahore. In this incident, 6 Sri Lankan cricketers were injured and 2 support staff were also seriously injured. Six Pakistani policemen and two civilians were killed in the attack. This incident had a terrible effect, not only this, international cricket came to a halt in Pakistan for a long time.
According to reports, 12 terrorists reached Gaddafi Stadium in two vehicles and started firing openly. The terrorists also wanted to attack with hand grenades, but the police quickly foiled their plans. One bullet came out touching the feet of the then-captain Mahela Jayawardene. Wicket-keeper batsman Kumar Sangakkara was also hit by shrapnel on his shoulder, and Thilan Samaraweera was also shot in the leg.
This attack tarnished the image of Pakistan in the world. This attack was headlined not only in neighboring countries but in newspapers around the world. The Sri Lankan cricket team then decided to return home immediately. Army helicopter was landed on the ground. This scared the cricket teams of the world so much that no one toured Pakistan for many years. In October 2017, the Sri Lankan team gathered courage and toured Pakistan again and played a T20 International match in the shadow of fear at the Gaddafi Stadium.