Younus counts his blessings

Younus Khan called the terrorist attack on the Sri Lanka team bus "deplorable"

Pakistan captain Younus Khan believes his team had a lucky escape with a delay this morning meaning they avoided the terror attack which injured seven Sri Lanka players en route to Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium.

The Sri Lanka team bus was on its way to the venue for the third day of the second Test when it came under attack from gunmen.

Seven players - captain Mahela Jayawardene, vice-captain Kumar Sangakkara, Thilan Samaraweera, Ajantha Mendis, Tharanga Paranavitana, Chaminda Vaas and Suranga Lakmal - and assistant coach Paul Farbrace were injured, while six policemen and two civilians died.

On previous days of the Test, the two teams had left at the same time but today, the Pakistan bus was delayed.

"We normally leave together, but today we were delayed and the Sri Lankan team went ahead of us," Younus said.

"It would have been catastrophic had both buses gone together."

Younus said he spoke to a number of the Sri Lanka players after the incident.

"They were courteous and took the incident in their stride," said the 31-year-old. "They merely termed it ‘a bad experience’ and they have no ill feeling towards this country.

"This is a deplorable act and it’s completely unacceptable. They were our guests and it’s awful to see such incidents happening."

Younus praised the bravery of the Sri Lanka team bus driver.

"We are thankful that none of the players suffered fatal injuries and the courage of the bus driver must be praised," Younus said.

"I heard Muttiah Muralitharan presented him with a team jersey. It was a great gesture."

Pakistan coach Intikhab Alam revealed his team had left their hotel but were told to turn back after going a little distance.

"We heard about the attack only when we had reached Mall road and were immediately told to return back to the hotel," he said.

"It was a terrifying incident and we sat down together worried about the Sri Lankan players' safety. We later got in touch with them and their manager."