All the talk about ‘no one would target cricketers’ sound very depressing and unappealing now. Yet another attack by terrorists’ shook up Pakistan, but this time the target was cricket team of Sri Lanka, who stepped up to fill in the void when team India pulled out, citing the security concern.
Tuesday 2nd march, 2009 seemed like any other day, but in the wildest dreams no one anticipated something malicious would be the order of the day. No one thought that the events following the shiny early morning would send tremors in cricketing world which would eventually drive Pakistan away and label as cricketing pariah. Twelve masked terrorists, who seemed to be well trained, who were in ambush, attacked the convoy of Sri Lankan Team that was on the way to Gaddafi stadium. A grenade was also thrown at the bus but it missed. They started shooting at team members, who were inside the bus sitting ducks, indiscriminately and in the process killed six gunmen and two civilians. After they wreaked havoc all the terrorists were able to get away without any difficulty, which is clearly impalpable. Some of the victims have sustained heavy blows but the most of them were stable and conscious. The Lahore test was called off immediately and the players were taken to near by secured areas.
This solo attack on the players, even though, didn’t claim any lives, fortunately, but the fear that it has created is overwhelming. All these days there was a talk that cricket would never be a target of the mask men. But it’s now very clear that no one would be spared. I feel that the whole talk about cricket wouldn’t be a target was neither confident nor convincing; it was more of presumptuous mixed with a ray of hope. I believe that the motives and ambitions (right or wrong, that’s another debate) of terrorists are much stronger than their love for cricket, I mean they have to be, otherwise we wouldn’t have seen this chaos. I don’t think they even give a damn about cricket or for that matter anything else except their purpose.
But the biggest question that prevails now is the status of Pakistan in cricket terms. As of now, no team is open and willing to tour Pakistan in foreseen future. Their consensus will remain same until something miraculous happens. But considering the current situations of trouble hit Pakistan, recuperation and redemption seems highly unlikely. But, will abandoning Pakistan really solves the problems? I don’t think so; in fact it strengthens the vicious circle that has been surrounding us and menacing to catapult us. If we keep abandoning the terrorist hit soils, we may have to stop playing cricket in South-Asia right away and one has to think twice before committing to play away from home. (This year’s IPL will be a crucial and challenging one for organizers to run it smoothly, especially as the schedule is coinciding with the General Election.)
Terrorism has no home. Terrorism has no region or religion. It is ubiquitous and it is fight among human beings. Nobody has a solution to alleviate, if not eradicate, the terrorism which has been deep rooted convolutedly in minds of few ruffians.
I feel Pakistan had a golden opportunity to prove the strength of its security and to win the accolades of other cricket playing nations by taking some serious measures to prevent the attack on the visiting team. It would have been a huge boost for the other nations to comply with request of Pakistan to pay visit. But the pandemonium leaves me in uncertainty of disbelief, a disbelief that started to linger in my mind asking if Pakistan is a new cemetery where cricket rests alive and unmercifully and we all stare at it's downfall despondently.
Tuesday 2nd march, 2009 seemed like any other day, but in the wildest dreams no one anticipated something malicious would be the order of the day. No one thought that the events following the shiny early morning would send tremors in cricketing world which would eventually drive Pakistan away and label as cricketing pariah. Twelve masked terrorists, who seemed to be well trained, who were in ambush, attacked the convoy of Sri Lankan Team that was on the way to Gaddafi stadium. A grenade was also thrown at the bus but it missed. They started shooting at team members, who were inside the bus sitting ducks, indiscriminately and in the process killed six gunmen and two civilians. After they wreaked havoc all the terrorists were able to get away without any difficulty, which is clearly impalpable. Some of the victims have sustained heavy blows but the most of them were stable and conscious. The Lahore test was called off immediately and the players were taken to near by secured areas.
This solo attack on the players, even though, didn’t claim any lives, fortunately, but the fear that it has created is overwhelming. All these days there was a talk that cricket would never be a target of the mask men. But it’s now very clear that no one would be spared. I feel that the whole talk about cricket wouldn’t be a target was neither confident nor convincing; it was more of presumptuous mixed with a ray of hope. I believe that the motives and ambitions (right or wrong, that’s another debate) of terrorists are much stronger than their love for cricket, I mean they have to be, otherwise we wouldn’t have seen this chaos. I don’t think they even give a damn about cricket or for that matter anything else except their purpose.
But the biggest question that prevails now is the status of Pakistan in cricket terms. As of now, no team is open and willing to tour Pakistan in foreseen future. Their consensus will remain same until something miraculous happens. But considering the current situations of trouble hit Pakistan, recuperation and redemption seems highly unlikely. But, will abandoning Pakistan really solves the problems? I don’t think so; in fact it strengthens the vicious circle that has been surrounding us and menacing to catapult us. If we keep abandoning the terrorist hit soils, we may have to stop playing cricket in South-Asia right away and one has to think twice before committing to play away from home. (This year’s IPL will be a crucial and challenging one for organizers to run it smoothly, especially as the schedule is coinciding with the General Election.)
Terrorism has no home. Terrorism has no region or religion. It is ubiquitous and it is fight among human beings. Nobody has a solution to alleviate, if not eradicate, the terrorism which has been deep rooted convolutedly in minds of few ruffians.
I feel Pakistan had a golden opportunity to prove the strength of its security and to win the accolades of other cricket playing nations by taking some serious measures to prevent the attack on the visiting team. It would have been a huge boost for the other nations to comply with request of Pakistan to pay visit. But the pandemonium leaves me in uncertainty of disbelief, a disbelief that started to linger in my mind asking if Pakistan is a new cemetery where cricket rests alive and unmercifully and we all stare at it's downfall despondently.
