Media lament cricket attack

Indian cricket enthusiasts condemned the attack on Sri Lankan cricketers in Pakistan.

The attack launched on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Pakistan on 3 March, in which seven people were killed and six cricketers injured, has raised doubts about the future of international cricket in Pakistan. The media in the world's cricket-playing nations have been discussing the implications for the future of the game.

The Australian and Indian cricket teams had previously cancelled tours to Pakistan because of security concerns, and on the morning of 4 March the New Zealand cricket team announced the cancellation of their scheduled visit in December. Pakistan's co-hosting of the 2011 Cricket World Cup with its South Asian neighbours is also under threat.

Several editorials in the South Asian press suggested that cricketing events must now be considered as a target for terrorism. One Bangladeshi writer said that cricket had previously served to unite the South Asian states. Commentators in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa voiced concern that the attack threatened the future security of international cricket games in South Asia and across the world.

It is inept and negligent leadership that has failed our venerable Sri Lankan guests and this nation in their eyes. We salute them. They dared to come where the Australians and the Indians had refused to come. We apologise to them for our security services' failure to protect them.

The attack, coming at a time when a number of foreign teams have refused to tour Pakistan because of fears about safety, has raised doubts about the 2011 World Cup, due to take place in Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh¿ The string of cancelled tours underlines the need for addressing global concerns about the lack of security in Pakistan.

It certainly is a case of killing two birds with one stone for those who wanted to ruin Pakistan's reputation and its robust relationship with Sri Lanka¿ For these groups for whom creating havoc in Pakistan is one of their primary goals, the incident is a cause for celebration.

By targeting visiting Sri Lankan players outside the Gaddafi Stadium, about a dozen terrorists destroyed the myth that sport can be cocooned from the big, bad world outside¿ Choosing high visibility targets like sportsmen and entertainers is no longer a no-go area for terrorists.

Today is a grim day for cricket, especially in South Asia where the sport has inspired regional unity and camaraderie among peoples at times when historical enmities and divisions threatened to overwhelm us as nations.

Cricket changed forever yesterday. The attack on Sri Lanka's team in the centre of Lahore went far beyond Pakistan in particular and the Asian subcontinent in general. Its thunderous effects could be felt everywhere the sport is played¿ the feeling will persist, with memories still fresh of the terrorist atrocity in Mumbai last November, that safety cannot be guaranteed anywhere.

As a shocked cricket world came to terms with yesterday's unprecedented terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore, the fabric of the game continued to be torn asunder. Pakistan will be scrapped as a touring destination more than a year after security experts warned of its danger and there are growing fears about playing elsewhere in the region.

Yesterday's assault will have implications on the game's future in South Asia, its most lucrative market. While it is premature to say who the perpetrators are, the outrage will harm the game in a region where it commands a massive following.

BBC Monitoringselects and translates news from radio, television, press, news agencies and the internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages. It is based in Caversham, UK, and has several bureaux abroad.

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