As I broke the story of the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore, I also mourned the imminent death of international cricket in Pakistan. This deadly attack simply means no international team will be willing to come and play any sport in Pakistan. What is most embarrassing is the fact that the attack was targeted at a team that was trying to help Pakistani cricket and cricket-crazed fans by agreeing to tour in a time of dire crises.
Cricket aficionado Alex Massie adds:
There's no reason to suppose that cricket should remain exempt or aloof from Pakistan's troubles, but there was every reason to hope it would. This attack nudges Pakistan closer to the abyss and the death of Pakistani cricket (for that is what it amounts to) unravels one of the threads that was, until now, helping to hold Pakistan together. Perhaps that invests cricket with more importance than it can reasonably be expected to bear, but there it is nevertheless.
--Michael Crowley