Attacks spell unforgettable year for Pakistan
Saturday, 2 January 2010
KARACHI, Jan 1 (AFP): The attack on the touring Sri Lankan team decimated Pakistan's international cricket and made 2009 one of the worst years for a sport followed by millions, former captain Wasim Akram said Thursday.
"Attacks on the Sri Lankan team blew away our cricket," Wasim told AFP of the shocking gun and grenade assault on the scheduled third day of the second Test between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Lahore last March.
"They made the year the most unforgettable in our history," he added.
The brazen attacks, which left eight people dead besides injuring seven Sri Lankan players and their assistant coach, put paid to Pakistan's chances of hosting any international cricket in the near future.
Following the attacks, the International Cricket Council (ICC), which had already shifted the Champions Trophy out of Pakistan in early 2009, also took away the 14 matches Pakistan was due to host in the 2011 World Cup.
Pakistan protested, threatened legal action and sought to hold its World Cup games in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), but the ICC was unmoved as co-hosts India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh insisted it was a South Asia tournament.
"Attacks on the Sri Lankan team blew away our cricket," Wasim told AFP of the shocking gun and grenade assault on the scheduled third day of the second Test between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Lahore last March.
"They made the year the most unforgettable in our history," he added.
The brazen attacks, which left eight people dead besides injuring seven Sri Lankan players and their assistant coach, put paid to Pakistan's chances of hosting any international cricket in the near future.
Following the attacks, the International Cricket Council (ICC), which had already shifted the Champions Trophy out of Pakistan in early 2009, also took away the 14 matches Pakistan was due to host in the 2011 World Cup.
Pakistan protested, threatened legal action and sought to hold its World Cup games in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), but the ICC was unmoved as co-hosts India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh insisted it was a South Asia tournament.