Sri Lanka’s wounded and shaken cricketers returned home yesterday to tearful hugs from their relatives, saying they were lucky to be alive after a deadly attack on their team bus in Pakistan.
“There were just these images of life flashing through my mind — all the while bullets were being sprayed at our bus, people around me were shouting,” spin maestro Muttiah Muralitharan recalled.
“I am glad to be back,” he said, hugging his wife, Madhi Malar.
PHOTO: AP
“I never thought I will be able to come home alive,” said skipper Mahela Jayawardene as he was greeted by his relieved wife, Christina.
Batsmen Thilan Samaraweera and Tharanga Paranavitana, who were both treated in hospital in Pakistan, were among the first of the 25-member touring party to leave the airport to be taken to a private hospital in Colombo.
“Both of them may need further treatment and surgery,” said Geethanjana Mendis, a sports medicine specialist who traveled to Pakistan to assess the wounded before their return flight.
He said the entire team needed medical evaluation, while some would require more care, although none of the injuries were life threatening.
Seven players and an assistant coach were hurt in Tuesday’s gun and grenade ambush in Lahore, which left six policemen and two civilians dead.
The parents of injured medium pace bowler Suranga Lakmal embraced and cried when their son walked out of the airport lounge.
“He is our only son. We have not eaten anything since we heard the news,” his father Albert said.
Before leaving Pakistan, Jayawardene extended his gratitude to their driver for possibly saving the team, who were being escorted to the Gaddafi stadium for the third day’s play of the second Test.
“We owe the team bus driver our lives for his remarkable bravery in the face of direct gunfire,” he said in a statement.
“Had he not had the courage and presence of mind to get the bus moving after the initial attack then we’d have been a far easier target for the terrorists,” he said.
Jayawardene expressed the team’s “deepest and heartfelt condolences” to the families of those killed.
In Lahore, the bus driver, Meher Mohammad Khalil, said he managed to keep his cool during the attack because he felt he needed to protect his country’s guests and reputation.
“The thought that the Sri Lankans are guests and my country’s image will be ruined if any of the players got seriously hurt spurred me,” Khalil said. “I kept my foot on the accelerator and drove the bus.”
Spin maestro Muttiah Muralitharan said Khalil was brilliant.
“I am standing in front of you just because of the driver,” said Muralitharan, who gave his Sri Lankan shirt to Khalil as a thank you.
The attack was a shock, Khalil said, “and then I heard Sri Lankan players shouting ‘Go! Go!’ and I did my best to take them to safety.”
“Had we stopped, a rocket launcher would have hit us,” the 42-year-old said at the stadium. “That could have been disastrous.”
“The vehicle slowed at the roundabout when I saw two men come out of hiding and start shooting,” he said.
“There was continuous firing and then suddenly a man jumped in front of the bus and hurled a grenade towards us. But luckily it missed and I drove in between the security vehicles and safely took the bus to the stadium.”
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