Sydney, Mar. 5: Former CEO of the International Cricket Council, Malcolm Speed, has said that Tuesday’s terrorist attack on Sri Lankan cricketers in Lahore, has changed the way the sport is to be played forever and from Pakistan''s point of view, particularly so.

In an article for the Sydney Morning Herald, Speed described the shocking attack on the Sri Lankans as a cricket administrator''s worst nightmare, and said that such an incident should no longer been seen as an occupational hazard for elite sportsmen and women.

As far the Indian subcontinent is concerned, he says cricket is the most popular sport by a factor of about 40.

“Indians, Pakistanis, Sri Lankans and Bangladeshis are extremely proud of their cricket teams. They are a major part of the fabric of these countries. They have their religions and they have cricket. This (Tuesday) attack strikes at that fabric,” Speed claims.

Speaking about the consequences of this outrage perpetrated on the sporting community, Speed says that the key is to identify the terrorists and establish the motive.

“Until that is done, the ramifications will reverberate through the region as different theories emerge,” Speed says, adding that “international cricket in Pakistan will be off the agenda for many years” in the wake of this latest terror strike.

“It is a tragedy for cricket fans in Pakistan that they will be deprived of seeing their players on home soil,” Speed says.

On the 2011 World Cup, he says that Pakistan is clearly out of that equation. (ANI)