The Sri Lankan cricketers, who came under heavy gunfire from gunmen in Lahore are still in a state of shock.

The cricketers are considering themselves simply lucky as they could safely return to home after the terrorist attack, which left six Lankan cricketers including skipper Mahela Jayawardene and star spinner Ajantha Mendis injured.

"Everyone is safe. Nothing bad has happened. Lot of guys are really lucky as there were bullet holes everywhere in our bus. I am very happy that I could see my family and came back to Sri Lanka in one piece. None of the members believed that they could come alive out of that situation," Jayawardene said.

In Tuesday's audacious terror attack, batsman Thilan Samaraweera and Tharanga Paranavitana were hospitalised while Jayawardene, his deputy Kumar Sangakkara, Mendis, Thilina Thushara and Suranga Lokumal received minor injuries, mostly shrapnel wounds.

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"It was a terrible incident. We were going to the ground and were ambushed on the way. We were lucky to get away. We were in shock, but very very happy to be back home," Sangakkara said.

But the 31-year-old cricketer wants to move ahead with the game, leaving the incident behind. "The best thing we can do is go on playing cricket," he added.

Batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan recalled those terrifying moments: "It was a sound like that cracker set on fire, I didn't take it seriously... A shot landed very close to the driver. I then realised we were being fired at.

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"I heard some of the players shouting that they have been hit. The firing continued for more than three minutes. The driver was in shock and the bus was stationary for over a minute. I asked the driver to drive fast and we left the site.

Later yesterday, the cricketers were airlifted from the Gaddafi Stadium by a special helicopter before a chartered plane brought them back home.

"We all got scared. At that time all that I could think was who had been shot and who escaped. The driver of the bus saved us," spinner Muttiah Muralitharan said.

The Lankan cricketers also paid tribute to the police officials who laid their lives shielding the visitors and driver of the bus who held his nerve to drove away the vehicle.