Thilan Samaraweera is a cricketer that savours every minute of his life, every run he scores and every moment that he shares with his loved ones and fans.
34 year old Samaraweera will forever be remembered for not letting a bullet injury end his international career after the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore in March 2009.
Samaraweera made his test debut against India in 2001 and scored 102 not out on debut. A veteran of 63 tests, his average of 54.25 is boosted by two double hundreds against Pakistan and 12 centuries in total.
Speaking exclusively to PakPassion.net; Samaraweera looked ahead to the upcoming tough series in England, as well as recalling the life threatening moments of the terrorist attack in Lahore.
Samaraweera's preparations for the first test in Cardiff couldn't have begun much better with scores of 41 and 74 respectively against the England Lions, innings that he feels have helped him settle into the tour of England.
"Things weren't easy at Derby. The ball was doing quite a bit. There was seam movement and swing. Conditions were tough, overcast, a bit of rain, the bounce was a bit up and down, but I'm happy with how things went."
With an eye on the challenging three test series against England which commences this Thursday, Samaraweera is hopeful that he and his team mates can go one better this time around and defeat the home side.
"Of course the plan is to win the series. Last time we drew the series in England and this time we want to go one better. This time around we have a new bowling attack due to guys like Malinga, Murali and Vaas not being part of the squad, but this is a good opportunity for the young players to shine and make a name for themselves and show what they are capable of. The performance of our experienced batting line-up is key and myself and the guys are really looking forward to the challenge."
The experienced trio of Malinga, Vaas and Murali will be sorely missed by the Sri Lankans, but Samaraweera wasn't surprised at Malinga's decision to retire from test cricket.
"He's had terrible problems with his knee and he's made the decision to prolong his career in the hope that he can carry on playing the shorter versions of cricket in the coming years. So I'm not surprised with Lasith's decision."
Samaraweera is keeping an open mind with regards to his own retirement and hopes that he can continue as long as he's enjoying his cricket and performing well.
"This year we have eleven test matches which is a lot of cricket coming up. Next year we also have eleven test matches scheduled so I am focussing more on test cricket. I feel I can go on for at least the next two years and after that I hope for the best."
Samaraweera also recalled one of the darkest days in cricketing history; March 3rd 2009 when Samaraweera and his team mates were attacked by terrorists as their team bus was due to enter the Gadaffi Stadium in Lahore.
"It was the worst day of my life. Those three minutes in the bus will stay with me forever. But it's all in the past now and thankfully I am here to tell the tale."
Samaraweera during the horrifying events in Lahore had a bullet pierce the inside of his thigh, centimetres from the knee but was back playing for Sri Lanka four months after the attack.
"It was a challenge to play after the attack and the injury, but I wanted desperately to start playing again. I was back playing again for Sri Lanka after four months. When I was lying in the hospital bed recovering from the injury I never thought I would be able to make such a swift recovery."
In the aftermath of the Lahore attack, the Sri Lankan players won much praise from the cricketing world in the dignified way they conducted themselves. Rather than pointing fingers, the Sri Lankan players and officials maintained a professional and respectful viewpoint.
"We have had 30 years of internal problems in Sri Lanka, we are used to that. In schools and other educational establishments we are taught how to react in such situations and that helped us all that day in Lahore."
Whilst some of the Sri Lankan cricketers and staff suffered shrapnel wounds in Lahore, Samaraweera was the only one on the Sri Lankan team bus that received a bullet. However Samaraweera feels that the bullet was "lucky", as had it entered his left leg a few centimetres away from knee, the injury would have been far more serious and potentially career threatening.
"I have kept the bullet, it's at home. I feel that it's a lucky bullet as if it had hit the bone I would never have played cricket again and if it had hit a nerve then the doctors said that I would have been paralysed. So for me, the fact that it neither hit the bone or a nerve means that the bullet was lucky.”
34 year old Samaraweera will forever be remembered for not letting a bullet injury end his international career after the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore in March 2009.
Samaraweera made his test debut against India in 2001 and scored 102 not out on debut. A veteran of 63 tests, his average of 54.25 is boosted by two double hundreds against Pakistan and 12 centuries in total.
Speaking exclusively to PakPassion.net; Samaraweera looked ahead to the upcoming tough series in England, as well as recalling the life threatening moments of the terrorist attack in Lahore.
Samaraweera's preparations for the first test in Cardiff couldn't have begun much better with scores of 41 and 74 respectively against the England Lions, innings that he feels have helped him settle into the tour of England.
"Things weren't easy at Derby. The ball was doing quite a bit. There was seam movement and swing. Conditions were tough, overcast, a bit of rain, the bounce was a bit up and down, but I'm happy with how things went."
With an eye on the challenging three test series against England which commences this Thursday, Samaraweera is hopeful that he and his team mates can go one better this time around and defeat the home side.
"Of course the plan is to win the series. Last time we drew the series in England and this time we want to go one better. This time around we have a new bowling attack due to guys like Malinga, Murali and Vaas not being part of the squad, but this is a good opportunity for the young players to shine and make a name for themselves and show what they are capable of. The performance of our experienced batting line-up is key and myself and the guys are really looking forward to the challenge."
The experienced trio of Malinga, Vaas and Murali will be sorely missed by the Sri Lankans, but Samaraweera wasn't surprised at Malinga's decision to retire from test cricket.
"He's had terrible problems with his knee and he's made the decision to prolong his career in the hope that he can carry on playing the shorter versions of cricket in the coming years. So I'm not surprised with Lasith's decision."
Samaraweera is keeping an open mind with regards to his own retirement and hopes that he can continue as long as he's enjoying his cricket and performing well.
"This year we have eleven test matches which is a lot of cricket coming up. Next year we also have eleven test matches scheduled so I am focussing more on test cricket. I feel I can go on for at least the next two years and after that I hope for the best."
Samaraweera also recalled one of the darkest days in cricketing history; March 3rd 2009 when Samaraweera and his team mates were attacked by terrorists as their team bus was due to enter the Gadaffi Stadium in Lahore.
"It was the worst day of my life. Those three minutes in the bus will stay with me forever. But it's all in the past now and thankfully I am here to tell the tale."
Samaraweera during the horrifying events in Lahore had a bullet pierce the inside of his thigh, centimetres from the knee but was back playing for Sri Lanka four months after the attack.
"It was a challenge to play after the attack and the injury, but I wanted desperately to start playing again. I was back playing again for Sri Lanka after four months. When I was lying in the hospital bed recovering from the injury I never thought I would be able to make such a swift recovery."
In the aftermath of the Lahore attack, the Sri Lankan players won much praise from the cricketing world in the dignified way they conducted themselves. Rather than pointing fingers, the Sri Lankan players and officials maintained a professional and respectful viewpoint.
"We have had 30 years of internal problems in Sri Lanka, we are used to that. In schools and other educational establishments we are taught how to react in such situations and that helped us all that day in Lahore."
Whilst some of the Sri Lankan cricketers and staff suffered shrapnel wounds in Lahore, Samaraweera was the only one on the Sri Lankan team bus that received a bullet. However Samaraweera feels that the bullet was "lucky", as had it entered his left leg a few centimetres away from knee, the injury would have been far more serious and potentially career threatening.
"I have kept the bullet, it's at home. I feel that it's a lucky bullet as if it had hit the bone I would never have played cricket again and if it had hit a nerve then the doctors said that I would have been paralysed. So for me, the fact that it neither hit the bone or a nerve means that the bullet was lucky.”
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