Sri Lanka Cricket Team visiting Pakistan.....

Muhammad Khalil Meher bus driver became a hero when activists attacked the Sri Lanka cricket team's bus in 2009 on a busy street in Lahore. He held his nerves to take them to a safe place.

After eight years, he is again ready to drive the bus of Sri Lankan cricket team during their visit to Pakistan.

The bus obstruction, which killed eight people and injured eight others, including seven Sri Lankan players, has led cricket for many years and most of Pakistan's international sports.

Due to the improved security environment in Pakistan, Sri Lankan Cricket Board has agreed to send Sri Lanka Cricket Team to Pakistan for a Twenty20 match in Lahore next week, despite some other concerns.

Khalil said that the publicity surrounding Sri Lanka's return reminded him of the attack on March 3, 2009 when he led the team to the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore.

Two Elite Police cars stood for the bus while they were to Chowk in Chihuahua in the heart of Lahore when the activists fired and shot bullets along the convoy.

"At first I thought they were fireworks for our guest team," he told AFP, in the street where the ambush began.

"Then a man approached me with a Kalashnikov straight shot ... I realized that was not a firework."

The militants initially fired on the drivers, he said and killed both in the main vehicles on the scene.

Khalil saw their vehicles left to the left and the other to the right, open a path through the center and hit the accelerator.

"They shot very hard on the vehicle, and they also threw a hand grenade and shot a rocket," he said, but both were lost.

Flee the land

He does not remember to stop, he said, until he drove the bus into the Gaddafi stadium.

A security cord was thrown and he and the players stayed there until a military helicopter transported them straight from his lawn.

After this, bus driver Khalil received medals and prize money from Pakistani and Sri Lankan officials.

But Pakistan's security continued to deteriorate, and the Taliban continued to win.

Khalil's new VIP status made him a goal, he was afraid, and by the end of the year he had fled the country, first in Morocco and then in South Africa.

However, in 2013 he returned to Pakistan and drove to Lahore again.

Meanwhile, the country's fortunes have improved, with a dramatic increase in safety in recent years, although the militants are still performing spectacular attacks.

The increasing trust led to a visit to Zimbabwe in 2015, a small step in terms of cricket, but since the national national anthem of Pakistan has been knocked for the first time in Gaddafi Stadium, a big step for local fans.

It was followed by the March final of Pakistan's popular Super League, where fans post posters that proclaim "Pakistan Wins Today".

And last month, a World Cup XI team led by Faf du Plessis toured for three T20 games, and foreign players called the "more than cricket" series.

The ICC officials acknowledged that Pakistan had taken great steps, although there was still a long way to go.

The end of the T20 comes to the end of a series that has also been played in the United Arab Emirates, where Pakistan has been home since its ambush.

'You are my hero'

The return of Sri Lanka, hopeful officials, will represent another turning point.

"Look what brave people they are," said Khalil, shining his eyes. "That they have passed this incident and that this team is still playing in our country.

"All Pakistan must give them a protocol (respect) and welcome them with great affection."

The Sri Lankan authorities have said they have accepted the game after the reviews of the Sri Lankan and Pakistani authorities, independent security experts and the ICC.

The cricket leader of the country, Thilanga Sumathipala, used to be at the end of Pakistan's isolation and asked the other teams to play.

Khalil plays with his son at the scene of the attack in Lahore. ─ AFP

However, Khalil has cautiously asked, and calls for an "infallible security" for all foreign actors in Pakistan.

The Sri Lankan players had been nervous the night before the ambush, he said, and described a conversation with the batter Kumar Sangakkara that evening.

"Sangakkara asked me," Mr. Mahommad, are we safe in Pakistan? "