Lahore attack victim Ahsan Raza will officiate in the 3rd T20I between Pakistan and Sri Lanka

42-year-old Ahsan Raza will officiate in the third and final T20I match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka, which will take place at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, the exact place where Raza took a bullet during the 2009 terror strike involving the Sri Lankan team. Raza survived the attack on the van carrying the officials, just behind the Sri Lankan team bus.

It’s been eight years but the memories deny to fade away. Raza thanks the ‘Allah’ for granting him a life and help him survive after the horrific incident. Apart from Zimbabwe no other Test playing nation visited Pakistan since the incident and the umpire feels it is time cricket comes back to Pakistan.

I could not have been alive: Raza

“I could not have been alive but I am thankful to the Almighty that I am getting that honour,” Raza told Wisden Pakistan. “I was fourth (reserve) umpire in that fateful Test and now I will be on field, which is a great honour for me.”

Raza heaped praises on the Sri Lankan team’s decision to play in Lahore. “The Sri Lankan players have set aside all fears in coming here and their tour will have a great impact on the revival of international cricket in Pakistan because it was their team that was attacked eight years ago,” he felt.

After failing to stop the Sri Lankan team bus, the terrorists attacked the officials’ van, resulting in the on-spot death of the driver . In that very moment, Raza shielded Chris Broad, the match referee, and took a bullet.

The umpire underwent emergency surgery to repair a collapsed lung and damaged liver after taking the bullet hit. He was treated in the intensive care for 26 days and needed two dozen bottles of blood to recover.

“You can’t forget a mishap like that,” reflected Raza. “I had recited Kalma (religious verse) after I was hit by a bullet. How I survived is a miracle and has strengthened my belief in Allah and I learnt that one should never give up in life.”