DNA Explainer: How gentleman's game was marred by terror attacks in the past

The Pakistan Cricket Board and its former players are furious at New Zealand for pulling out of their limited-overs tour of Pakistan, minutes before their first match in Rawalpindi. This was done on the pretext of a 'security alert' from the New Zealand government.

For cricket frenzy Pakistan, this comes as a big setback as the country has not seen much international cricket on its soil in recent years. Since 2009, when a bus carrying Sri Lankan players was targeted by gunmen, countries have refrained from playing in Pakistan. Pakistan had to play their home games for around a decade in the UAE after this incident. 

The recent development has also put the upcoming England tour in jeopardy as the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said they would decide in a day or two as to whether the country would proceed with their scheduled Pakistan tour in October. Both men and women cricket teams were supposed to play matches there.

NZ just killed Pakistan cricket

— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) September 17, 2021

Reacting to the decision by New Zealand Cricket Board, former Pakistani pacer Shoaib Akhtar called the move 'very embarrassing' and said he can't take it. Blaming the Black Caps, Shoaib Akhtar said New Zealand 'killed Pakistan cricket'. However, netizens seem to disagree with his statement saying 'no, terrorism did'.

Today we look back into some past incidents where the gentleman's game was marred by the shadow of terrorism. 

Sri Lanka tour of New Zealand - 1987 and 1992

In 1987, New Zealand was in the middle of a three-Test series in Sri Lanka when a bomb exploded near their team hotel in Colombo, killing more than 100 people. The New Zealand players were safe, but the series was cancelled.

In 1992, a similar incident five years later resulted in New Zealand leaving Sri Lanka once again in the midst of a series.

In May 2002, New Zealand cricket officials cancelled the test tour of Pakistan after a bomb blast outside their hotel in Karachi. Nine people were killed in the blast. The New Zealand team and officials were not injured.

Sri Lankan tour to Pakistan - 2009

In 2009, Sri Lanka was on tour to Pakistan. The Sri Lankan cricketers were on their way to the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore in their team bus when a group of masked terrorists attacked them. Five Sri Lankan players, including Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, were injured. Six security personnel and two civilians were killed in the ghastly attack by the terrorists.

Since then Pakistan had to play their home games for around a decade in the UAE after this incident. The country also lost the joint hosting rights of the 2011 World Cup in the wake of the attack.

Chinnaswamy Cricket Stadium blast - 2010

On April 17, 2010, two bombs exploded around a heavily packed Chinnaswamy Cricket Stadium, Bangalore in which fifteen people were injured. A third bomb was found and defused outside the stadium. T20 cricket match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians was scheduled to be played there which started an hour late amid tight security.

London terror attack before  ICC Champions Trophy - 2017

In June 2017, a terror attack took place in London killing seven people and injuring 48 others. The attack took place merely hours before the ICC Champions Trophy match played between India and Pakistan at Edgbaston.

In May 2018, several bombs exploded almost simultaneously during a cricket match in Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province, killing at least eight people and wounding 45 others at the sports stadium in Jalalabad.

In 2020, a large number of spectators, including political workers and media persons had gathered at the Chanay Ground in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province to watch the final match of the Amn Cricket tournament. And as soon as the game started, the terrorists opened fire indiscriminately from the nearby hills. Fortunately, players, spectators and journalists managed to escape unhurt.