"Still Have Shrapnel In My Body": Kumar Sangakkara On Sri Lanka Facing Terror Attack In Pakistan

Back in 2009, a terror attack on the Sri Lanka team's bus in Lahore changed Pakistan cricket forever. For years, Pakistan played their home matches in the UAE as teams refused to visit the country after what happened on that day in Lahore. Eight people were killed and over 20 others, including several Sri Lankan players, were injured when more than a dozen terrorists ambushed the Lankan team's motorcade at the busy Liberty traffic roundabout near the Gaddafi Stadium on the third day of the second Test against Pakistan on March 3, 2009.

Sri Lankan players Kumar Sangakkara, Ajantha Mendis, Thilan Samaraweera, Tharanga Paranavitana, Suranga Lakmal and Thilina Thushara were injured in the attack. Sangakkara has now opened up on how it changed his outlook on life.

Sangakkara said that one of his teammates joked about a bomb going off before the attack actually happened. "We are in the hotel, third day, going to the ground, and a fast bowler seated in front says, 'My back's going to break on these flat tracks. I hope a bomb goes off and we go home,'" Sangakkara said in a podcast. "Not even a minute later, we get attacked."

"We get injured. I still have shrapnel down my right side. I haven't had any nightmares, or, you know, visitations back to what could have happened, or waking up in cold sweats. But what it did give me was this sense of deep gratitude and perspective on what was happening in Sri Lanka at the time."

At the same time, Sri Lanka was going through a civil war, and the attack changed Sangakkara's perspective. "I mean, we were going through a war - the last stages of the war - in 2009, and this happened to us for two minutes, and we made headline news," Sangakkara said.

"A few weeks later, I was driving through Colombo and was stopped by an officer - Army or Navy. The first thing he asked was, 'Oh, how are you?' I said I am okay. He then said, 'We saw the news and we were so shocked for you guys.'

"I mean, I saw it happens to you and to your fellow soldiers all the time," Sangakkara continued. "He looked at me and said, 'Yeah, we signed up for it.' I realised the world we are living in. We play cricket, play a game, get paid well, and suddenly we experience something for two minutes that the country has experienced for 20-26 years, and suddenly we are heroes."

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Pakistan Cricket Team Sri Lanka Cricket Team Kumar Sangakkara Cricket