Published: Mar 05, 2017, 09:23 PM (IST)
Edited: Mar 05, 2017, 09:51 PM (IST)
As the much-awaited final of the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2017 is being played between Peshawar Zalmi and Quetta Gladiators at the Gadaffi Stadium in Lahore, thousands of die-hard cricketing fans from Pakistan will be traveling to the stadium to watch the glimpse of their favourite international cricketers after a long time. While among the thousands will also be present the heroic and courageous bus driver from the horrific 2009 Lahore attack on the Sri Lankan team, Meher Mohammad Khalil will also be present at the ground to enjoy the final. Pakistan has been deprived of international cricket since the attacks, with Zimbabwe being the only side to tour in 2015. LIVE CRICKET UPDATES: PSL 2017, Final: Peshawar Zalmi vs Quetta Gladiators
“I jumped out of my bed when I got a call from the Pakistan Cricket Board [inviting him to the game]. Every year in March, there is a strange sense of despair that grips me but this time around, I hope the smiles don’t go away,” said Khalil. “Just a day before the attack, I drove the players to a shopping mall and Kumar Sangakkara talked to me on the bus. He asked me if they were safe in Pakistan. I told him if, God forbid, anything happens to them then I would stand in the way and give my life for them,” he added as he recalled the moments from 2008, reported ESPNCricinfo.
“First I thought these were firecrackers. There was firing from everywhere. Their initial aim was to hit the drivers of all these vehicles and stop us from moving. Those two minutes are how wars must feel like. There were 58 bullet holes on the bus. I just thank God none of us died,” said Khalil. Khalil also described the moments after the attack, and the proceedings that followed. “Initially, the agencies took me as a suspect. Nevertheless, the Sri Lankan kept thanking me for saving their lives. I was told by those around me that they even wanted me to go to Sri Lanka with them but I declined.”
Khalil also recalled when he was felicitated by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) in Colombo. “Unforgettable! Don’t you think it’s strange that I was driving the team with security protocol a month ago and now, in Sri Lanka, I was the one being driven around with protocol? Friends and family members who hardly ever met me now started calling me their best friend!”
He also recalled his meeting with Mahela Jayawardene in centurion. “I left a message at the hotel reception and then got a call from Jayawardene. I drove five hours with my friends to meet them and they were nice enough to give us tickets to watch them play,” he concluded.
