It’s been over a week since the terrorist attack on Easter Sunday in Sri Lanka. We’ve slowly started to drift back to our routines. But, the clock at Kochchikade church is still stuck at 8.45 am since that dark Sunday.
Two of Sri Lanka’s cricketing sons were exposed to terror on the 21st of April 2019. All-rounder Dasun Shanaka was extremely fortunate to escape the blast at St. Sebastian’s church, Katuwapitiya. The 27-year-old returned to his home town, Negombo the previous day, after a 170-kilometer drive from Anuradhapura. He was tired and decided to skip the Easter Sunday mass. But, his mother and grandmother were in the church during the time of the incident and suffered injuries.
“[My mother] was near the window, but had been protected from the brunt of the blast by a nearby partition, and she suffered only minor injuries. Many of those around her had died.”
“When I went looking for my grandmother, I wasn’t expecting to find her alive. But, as it turned out, the blast had hit and killed those around her, but she had been protected from severe damage by the bodies of the others,” Shanaka said. “In the end, she was hurt badly having been hit in the head with shrapnel, but we were able to take her to hospital for surgery.” – Shanaka was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
The youth international sensation of Sri Lanka, Hasitha Boyagoda, experienced the unfortunate incident while at the Shangri-La Hotel in Colombo with his family. Even though specific information about the Boyagoda family was not revealed, ThePapare.com learns that Hasitha Boyagoda was unhurt but shocked.
A youth international tour has already been called-off and many countries have declared the pearl of the Indian Ocean has a ‘no-go’ zone for the time being. One hopes this will not be a U-turn to 1987. The Island did not see international cricket for 5 years from 1987 to 1992.
This is not the first time that we Sri Lankans have experienced such a tragedy. Every cricket fan around the world will remember Sri Lanka’s infamous tour of Pakistan in 2009.
Lahore, 2009
“I turned and looked out the window over my shoulder. I could see this guy moving towards us with a gun, firing this gun. I then looked down the front of the bus and I could see the top of a white car which had been driven onto the roundabout to block us. The next thing the bus shook again quite violently.” Paul Farbrace said to BBC sport.
This was the account of the Sri Lankan assistant coach who was on the bus during the attack. It was the third day of the second Test against Pakistan and the Sri Lankan team was on their way to the Gaddafi Stadium. They were asked to leave early without waiting for the Pakistan team bus.
Right at the back of the bus, fast bowler Thilina Thushara complains of his backache after two days of cricket and says he wished a bomb goes off so that the team could fly back to Sri Lanka. A few seconds pass. Someone in the bus says “Why would someone let off crackers at eight in the morning?” Then suddenly someone in the front of the bus shouts “No! They are shooting at us. Get down!”
The team was targeted by a dozen gunmen who were armed with rifles, grenades, and rocket-launchers. Seven of the team members were wounded and six security personnel and two civilians were killed during the attack. Sri Lankan assistant coach Paul Farbrace also suffered minor injuries.
Among the injured was Tilan Samaraweera who was struck by a bullet in his thigh and Tharanga Paranavitana who was on his debut tour. Paranavitana was hit in the chest.
“Oh my god. You were out first-ball, run out in the next innings and now, you have been shot! What a terrible, terrible first tour” – Kumar Sangakkara recollected on his thoughts on Paranavitana during the attack at the MCC Cowdrey’s Lecture
The vehicle that carried the match-officials was also attacked and umpire Ahsan Raza was severely injured. The driver of the van was killed and a policeman had to jump in the vehicle to drive them to safety.
Umpires Simon Taufel, Steve Davis, Nadeem Ghauri, Ahsan Raza, umpire performance manager Peter Manuel, liaison officer Abdul Sami and ICC match referee Chris Broad were in the vehicle during the incident.
“My wounds have healed but whenever I look at them I remember the gruesome incident. Whenever someone mentions that incident I request him not to remind me of that tragedy.” – Raza told AFP.
The Sri Lankan team bus driver, Meher Mohammad Khalil, was praised for his bravery in driving the team bus to safety during the incident.
“Bullets were hitting the bus but everybody was incredibly calm. It was an eerie calm. There were bullets pinging the bus, hitting the glass, but the only voice I could hear was Dilshan’s. It was a very distinctive voice. I can still hear it now, I probably will for the rest of my life.The driver was given huge credit, and his skills in getting us out of the situation were incredible, but to this day I think Dilshan’s bravery saved our lives. Sticking his head up and talking the driver through it, telling him where to turn, that probably saved us.” – Paul Farbrace, BBC sports.
The team was flown from the ground to a nearby air force base and was then flown back to Colombo in a charter flight sent by the Sri Lankan government immediately after the attack. The tour was called-off with the second Test being called-off as a draw.
Samaraweera was initially not allowed to fly by the doctors but later given the go-ahead reluctantly when captain, Mahela Jayawardene, refused to fly back to Colombo without him. There were doctors and nurses in the flight sent from Colombo to assist Samaraweera on the way back.
The bitterness of the experience is still felt by those men but their resilience is remarkable. Samaraweera has that bullet in his trophy cabinet and it is said that Lakmal has a piece of metal in his leg which requires a major surgery which he has postponed till retirement. He still has difficulties in clearing himself from metal detectors at the airports though.
Though this was the only occasion where cricket was directly targeted by violence, there are many other occasions where terror took its toll on cricket.
Indira Gandhi’s assassination, 1984
India’s tour of Pakistan in the 1984-85 season was cut short with the third and final Test being canceled due to the assassination of the Indian prime minister, Indira Gandhi at her residence in New Delhi. The India team was asked to fly back home and both Pakistan and India cricket boards agreed.
New Zealand’s fate
Colombo, 1987
The business town of Sri Lanka was shaken by violence on the 21st of April 1987 when a horrendous bomb attack took place at the central bus station. The bomb killed 113 civilians but was not targeted at the New Zealand team. The touring New Zealand team was in a nearby hotel during the blast and decided to fly back without a single objection. The three-Test tour only saw one of them completed.
Colombo, 1992
No other team toured Sri Lanka since the departure of the New Zealanders back in 1987. To end the drought, it was New Zealand again who opted to visit the Island for two Tests and three ODIs. Yet again they were greeted with a suicide bomb attack outside the team hotel which killed four people. Five of the New Zealand players and the coach packed their bags to return home while the rest of them stayed back to complete the tour.
Pakistan, 2001 or otherwise, Manhattan, 2001
On the 11th of September 2001, the New Zealand cricket team was in Singapore on the way to Pakistan. But decided to return home following the news from the USA – The world trade center attack. New Zealand had specific issues with the first Test to be played at Peshawar, a town near the Afghanistan border. Afghanistan was believed to be the safe house of the Al-Qaeda terrorist group responsible for the attack in the USA. The tour was called off.
Karachi, 2002
Yet another bomb blast, again outside the New Zealand team hotel. Speak of wrong place, wrong time and New Zealand. The players were about the leave the hotel when the suicide bomb was detonated. None of them were hurt but the sight of the horrifying aftermaths pushed them to an immediate cancellation of the tour. They had already played two Tests and three ODIs by the time of the incident.
New Zealand canceled their scheduled tour to Pakistan in 2009 following the attack on the Sri Lankan team.
Christchurch, 2019
Even though New Zealand was involved in the tour, it was Bangladesh who was the visitors this time. The Bangladesh team members were on their way to a mosque in Christchurch when a gunman opened fire at the worshipers and public in and around the mosque. The players were in close proximity of the scene and fled back to the grounds for safety. At the wake of the incident, both controlling parties of the two teams decided to call off the tour. Bangladesh was in New Zealand for three Tests and three ODIs.
Central Bank of Sri Lanka, 1996
A suicide bomb attack was launched at the Central Bank of Sri Lanka which is located in the country’s commercial capital, Colombo. This incident killed at least 90 people. Australia and West Indies cricket teams were due to land in the Island for the preliminary round games of the 1996 world cup a week after this. Both teams refused to touch Colombo. The games were awarded to Sri Lanka by a walkover.
Mumbai, 2008
Team England was in India when several coordinated shooting and bombings went off in Mumbai killing more than 170 people. The English cricketers flew back home immediately but returned later in that year to play the remainder of the series. The series saw 2 Tests and 5 ODIs.
