From Lahore attack to Christchurch mosque shooting: When terror came in the way of cricket

In the 1996 tournament co-hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, the Australian cricket team refused to travel to Sri Lanka as the team cited security threat after a bombing incident.

The incident had taken place in Colombo a month before the World Cup. The Kangaroos had to forfeit 2 points, however, both teams met in the final at Pakistan. Sri Lanka went on to lift their maiden World Cup trophy. 

(Image: cricket.com.au)

Following Australia’s footsteps, West Indies also decided not to play their match in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka were awarded 2 points and West Indies progressed to the knockout rounds. They, however, had to settle for the fourth place.

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The attack on the Sri Lanka national cricket team on 3 March 2009 will always be remembered. The bus carrying Sri Lankan cricketers was fired upon by 12 gunmen near Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, Pakistan. The team were on their way to play the third day of the second Test match.

Six Sri Lanka national cricket team members were wounded and six Pakistani policemen and two civilians were killed in the attack. The attack, believed to have been carried out by Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, was probably the first instance when cricketers were directly targeted by terrorists.

The Test was called off as the players were evacuated from the Gaddafi stadium and taken to a nearby airbase.

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It was supposed to be Bangladesh’s first Test series against Australia in nine years. However, the tour was cancelled after an Italian charity worker was shot dead in Dhaka.

Citing a "threat to Australian interests", the tour was abandoned by Cricket Australia. The Test match would have been the team’s first under the captaincy of Steve Smith.

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Not directly hinted at them, but the Bangladesh cricket team narrowly escaped a shooting that took place at a mosque in Christchurch on Friday. Several people were dead and forced the cancellation of a Test match against hosts New Zealand.

The team were on a bus that was pulling up to the Al Noor mosque near Hagley Oval for Friday prayers when the shooting began. Mario Villavarayen, the team's strength and conditioning coach, said it had been a close call.

"I spoke to my counterpart in Bangladesh and we agree its inappropriate to play cricket at this time," NZC Chief Executive David White told TVNZ. "It's quite unbelievable really. We are shocked."

White said he had spoken to the liaison officer with the Bangladesh team and the players were "shocked".

(Image: AFP)

Before the tour started there was a terrorist bomb attack. New Zealand abandoned their 1987 tour of Sri Lanka following a bombing near their hotel in Colombo in which more than 100 people were killed. 

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New Zealand had abandoned a tour of Pakistan in May 2002 following a suicide bombing outside their Pearl Continental Hotel in Karachi.

The Pakistan and New Zealand teams were staying in that hotel, and on the morning of the second Test between the two sides, the Black Caps' tour of Pakistan was abandoned.

The New Zealand team left for home on the first available flight, later that night.

(Image: File Photo)