Laws of cricket saved umpire Raza

Umpiring has been Ahsan Raza's life. And when terrorist gunmen opened fire on the buses carrying match officials and Sri Lankan cricketers in Lahore in March 2009, the Laws of cricket saved his life.

Raza, a reserve official for the second Test match, was on the bus with Australian umpires Simon Taufel and Steve Davis as well as fellow Pakistani Nadeem Ghauri and match referee Chris Broad, from England.

"When the bullets were fired, I had the ICC's rule book in my pocket which stopped the bullet from penetrating directly into my chest, otherwise damage could have been severe," Raza told cricket.com.au, touching on the horrific events of that day.

"There was another bullet which damaged my lung. The match referee Chris Broad then lay on my stomach which stopped blood from dripping.

"After that I received 22 bottles of blood."

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A helicopter lands on the outfield of Gaddafi Stadium to transport crickters and officials in Lahore, March 2009 // Getty Images

Raza suffered lung and liver damage and spent considerable time in intensive care. He has 80 stitches across his torso. It was six months before he could walk again. If that bullet hadn't deflected off the rulebook, he could have died.

Six years later and international cricket is about to return to the Gadaffi Stadium in Lahore, and Raza is set to fulfil a lifelong dream.

The first of two Twenty20 matches and three ODIs will be played on Friday, May 22. The ICC did not appoint neutral officials for the series, citing security concerns.

Raza, now 40, will make his international on-field umpiring debut in the first international match in Pakistan in six years.

"I don't have words to explain how excited I am," Raza said.

"It is incredible to see the passion of cricket once again in Pakistan. We have heard about the unavailability of tickets as the matches have been sold out. It is really amazing to see the craze of cricket back in Pakistan.

"I was always hopeful of cricket's return to Pakistan.

"The six years after the terrorist attack in Lahore were not easy for me. They were really tough for me as I had to keep myself fit to meet demands of an international umpire."

After an intensive rehabilitiation, Raza slowly returned to umpiring, standing in domestic fixtures before graduating back to being the third official for Pakistan's matches in the UAE against New Zealand.

Never before, though, has he stood as an on-field umpire in an international match.

"In the last six years I had a drastic change in my life. Those two bullets made me suffer a lot and if you could have seen those 80 odd stiches on my tummy you will feel amazed at how I am standing here," Raza told ESPN.

"The doctors thought I would not be able to stand as an umpire but my passion for cricket made me stand on my feet again.

"I not only became a successful umpire but also a teacher. I became an educator, teaching the umpires – that is the important thing in my life that make me feel very good, how much I have grown in last few years."

While Raza will stand in the first match, ICC Elite Panel match referee Roshan Mahanama is set to act as a 'remote referee' in the series against Zimbabwe.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) appointed former Test cricketer Azhar Khan as the match referee but, without prior international experience, will be able to call on support from Mahanama should it be required.

Match referees are typically called upon to adjudicate reports of breaches of the ICC Code of Conduct. If that happens in this series, Azhar will be able to consult with Mahanama who will draw on his extensive international experience.

It will not be the first time a 'remote referee' has been used in cricket. In the ICC Under-19 World Cup in the UAE in 2014, Zimbabwe's Andy Pycroft officiated remotely for six matches of the tournament's first round.  

The same situation occurred in the women's ODI series between Pakistan and South Africa this year when Sri Lanka's Graeme Labrooy acted remotely. India's Raju Mukherjee set new standards when he was simultaneously match referee for the Ranji Trophy final in 2011 and the women's ODI series between India and the West Indies.