Terror struck at the heart of cricket when masked gunmen attacked the bus carrying the Sri Lankan cricket team to the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Five cricketers, including Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lankan captain, and his deputy Kumar Sangakkara, received minor injuries. The attack left six security men and two civilians dead and will almost certainly leads to abandonment of the ongoing Test match.
There have been terror strikes on the peripheries of cricket, but this is the first time players have been directly targeted. The Sri Lankans were on their way to the Gaddafi Stadium when their bus was attacked by five armed terrorists near Liberty market. Habibur Rehman, chief commissioner of police, said 12 masked terrorists fired at the Sri Lankan team bus. The gunmen shot at the wheels of the bus and also injured the driver. A grenade was also thrown at the bus but it missed. The others players injured are Ajantha Mendis, Thilan Samaraweera and Tharanga Paranavitana.
"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," told Mahela Jayawardene. "We all dived to the floor to take cover. About five players have been injured and also Paul Farbrace [a member of the support staff], but most of the injuries appear to be minor at this stage and caused by debris."
Sri Lanka's sports minister Gamini Lokuge said Farbrace and Samaraweera were hospitalised while the others have been discharged. "Mahela and the other three had very minor injuries and they have already reached their hotel," Lokuge said.
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