Sri Lankan batsman Thilan Samaraweera will be out of action until June with an injury. An injury that should never happen to any sportsman or woman, cricketer or not - a bullet wound to the knee.
Samaraweera's injury was sustained during the horrific events on the morning of day three of the Second Test between Sri Lanka and Pakistan, when masked gunmen attacked the Sri Lankan team bus en route to the stadium. He was among five players injured by gunfire and shrapnel, while eight people - six members of the Punjabi Elite Police and two civilians - were killed.
This attack was no tragic collision of circumstances, no horrific accident. Political activist and former Pakistan captain Imran Khan has claimed that the attack was an attempt to destabilise the Pakistani economy, in the same way that the rest of the country's infrastructure finds itself collapsing. There are a thousand other theories as to why the attack was carried out, none of which have come close to being validated. One thing is for certain, however - the effects will not only be physical and fiscal, but emotional and everlasting.
Pakistan's Economy Hit by inevitable Loss of World Cup
The suggestion made by Imran Khan that the attack was designed to hit the Pakistan economy, and to hit it hard, was surely accurate. There will be no international cricket played in Pakistan in the near future, according to International Cricket Council President David Morgan. This will deprive the Pakistani economy of billions of rupees' worth of gate receipts, merchandise and television revenue, even in the most immediate of terms.
These losses will be aggravated tenfold by Pakistan's likely removal as one of the four co-hosts of the 2011 Cricket World Cup. No nation's sportsmen will be comfortable setting foot on Pakistani soil in light of the most high-profile collision between sport and terrorism since the 1972 Munich Olympic tragedy, where 11 Israeli athletes were killed by Palestinian gunmen. The questioning of security provisions for the Sri Lankan team and the subsequent loss of trust between the Pakistani government and the ICC will undoubtedly leave Pakistani cricket in a state of desperate isolation.
Pakistani Youth Face Loss of National Pastime
While Samaraweera and his cohorts may bear the physical scars of the attack, it is the psyche of Pakistani sport that will be hurt the most. Young people in Pakistan, as in every country, are drawn to sport as a means of escape. Be it from the pressures of school life, be it from poverty, or from a thousand other things, sport brings to youth worldwide what nothing else can. Today's cricketers in Pakistan are heroes to a generation of children. Most of these children will now grow up without ever being able to watch their heroes in person, without having to travel to another country to do so.
It is a sad state of affairs that Sri Lanka's innocent players had to suffer for the perceived sins of Pakistani cricket. However, in a strange, paradoxical way, it is appropriate. It brings to our attention the need for sporting organisations and fans alike to band together on a global basis, in the light of far more pressing concerns. Sport has become a different environment now that teams and athletes travelling internationally will be yet more preoccupied with security, and the global sporting community will not survive these challenges without embracing a spirit of togetherness.
Solidarity in Unity
Sport's greatest attribute is its capacity to unite. Men and women of all races, nations, ages, and backgrounds are brought together by their love of the game, whatever it may be. In an age where the 'real world' has a nagging tendency to infringe upon the fairytale world that we call sport, the passion of the average fan is the only constant. As such, it is the healing for every bullet wound that terrorism may inflict.
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