Detailing the horrific Lahore terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team in 2009, Kumar Sangakkara opened up about the panic-stricken moments when “all hell broke loose” inside the team bus, further revealing how the incident influenced his view on life.
Sangakkara, along with his teammates, was inside the bus, headed for the Gadaffi stadium when armed terrorists opened fire, killing six Pakistan policemen and two civilians. Six Sri Lankan players were injured.
“Usual banter in the bus [before the attack], people talking about what you are going to do this evening,” Sangakkara told Sky Sports Cricket. “One of our fast bowlers, sitting in the front, said ‘wickets are so bloody flat here, I am going to get a stress fracture or something. I hope a bomb goes off, so we could go home’. And 20 seconds later, this happens…”
“A lot of the talk was about the surprise that we had gone three-four minutes of what people go through everyday.”
“All these things allowed us to understand that – listen, why not us? What makes up so special that we can’t be attacked or go through something like this. Isn’t it our responsibility that, if you do, you get on back with life as best as you can.”
