Sri Lankan Cricket Team attacked in Pakistan, IPL dates will change.

Usually we would not write about something that doesn't directly concern the Mumbai Indians but today is different. We are appalled by the occurrences that took place in Lahore today. For those who haven’t already heard, about 12 unidentified gunmen, opened fire on the bus carrying the Sri Lankan cricketers to the Gaddafi stadium. Thilan Samaraweera, Kumar Sangakkara (Punjab Kings XI), Ajantha Mendis (Kolkata Knight Riders), Mahela Jayawardene (Punjab Kings XI), Tharanga Paranavithana and Chaminda Vaas (Deccan Chargers) were injured in the firing. It is also rumoured that a grenade was rolled under the bus but it did not go off.

It was not long ago that our editorial team was discussing the brevity of the Sri Lankan squad in touring Pakistan, even though the country is in such turmoil. Sri Lanka had given the Pakistani government a chance to earn a glint of redemption after the Mumbai siege on 26/11. The team and management jointly decided that they would tour Pakistan if their government would provide adequate security. Pakistan agreed and when no other team in the world wanted to play in the country, due to security concerns, Sri Lanka toured as ambassadors of goodwill, a decision that they are probably regretting in hindsight.

People would like to believe that sports and politics are not intertwined; that cricketers are not under a security threat, but turn the clock back to the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany, where members of the Israeli Olympic team were taken hostage and eventually murdered by a militant group known as Black September, which had ties to Yasser Arafat’s Fatah organization. By the end of the ordeal, the terrorist group had killed eleven Israeli athletes and coaches and one German police officer. It was also believed the West Germany themselves had a hand in the attack. This is the second example that proves how untrue this belief is.


In countries like India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, where people hold cricket so close to their hearts that it is considered a religion, attacking cricketers means attacking our faith. It hurts me to say this but it was only a matter of time before something like this happened and it will inevitably happen again especially in a country like Pakistan that claims to be fighting terror while underhandedly nurturing terrorist networks, which have now turned on them. Therefore I do not believe that Pakistan is capable of jointly hosting the forthcoming Cricket World Cup.

In terms of the IPL, there were worries that if the second season does not happen during the stipulated period then it will not happen at all this year. Lalit Modi, commissioner of the IPL, stated that, “the management does not expect the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore to impact the second edition of the tournament. There are a few dates which will change due to the general elections and a few of the games will be shifted around. But we will get under way on April 10th. Modi claimed the IPL security team had visualised every conceivable mode of attack and prepared for them.

Our sympathies are with the Sri Lankan team.