Sangakkara learning to live with Lahore memories

Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara said that while life for his side would not be the same after the attack on their team bus in Pakistan it would not stop them from playing international cricket.

Sangakkara’s men have arrived in England for the ICC World Twenty20 after a particularly torrid few months.

In March, their bus was attacked with bullets and grenades in Lahore as they travelled to the Gadaffi Stadium for the second Test against Pakistan in an incident that saw several players, including wicket-keeper/batsman Sangakkara hurt, and eight Pakistanis killed.

And their landing in England was overshadowed by British newspaper reports of Sri Lankan government ‘war crimes’ against the separatist Tamil Tigers, which led to the cancellation of a trip to the Oxford Union.

“It was funny getting back on a bus from the airport to go to hotel when we arrived in England,” Sangakkara explained to reporters at a captains’ press conference at Lord’s here on Sunday.

“After Lahore, we went through a terrible time but what we’ve realised is that life goes on. “We’ve got to play cricket, cricket for us means normalacy.”

Sangakkara, who might have been a lawyer had he not come good as a cricketer, was realistic about the extent of sport’s role in surmounting political problems - particularly after the Lahore attack which led to Pakistan becoming a ‘no-go zone’ for international cricketers.

But nor was the erudite 31-year-old dismissive of the role that cricket in particular plays in his country’s culture.

“Cricket in Sri Lanka has been that one unifying force over the years,” he said.

“It’s been the passion of the entire country, cricket transcends religion, race and politics.

“I think that’s the greatest thing we represent. As a team we are representative of all the ethnicities and religions that are there in Sri Lanka and we get on fine.”

Sangakkara, who was due to address the Oxford Union, the University’s debating society, with team-mate Muttiah Muralitharan, said the team had shown great “mental fortitude” in resuming international cricket.

Sri Lanka, who have warm-up matches against South Africa at Lord’s on Wednesday and against Bangladesh at Trent Bridge on Thursday, find themselves drawn in a group with fellow Test nations Australia and the West Indies.

Nevertheless, they remain strongly fancied to qualify for the Super Eights and Sangakkara, whos team features a mix of newcomers and veterans such as star batsman Sanath Jayasuriya, insisted their attention was now soley on cricket.

LONDON, AFP