England call off India tour

Cricinfo staff

November 27, 2008

England have called off their tour of India following a series of terrorist strikes in Mumbai since Wednesday evening, according to reports. While PTI quoted a BCCI official as saying that the entire tour has been called off, board sources who have been briefed about the ongoing discussions told Cricinfo that they were hopeful that the two-Test series will take place as scheduled from December 11.

"At this point of time, it is difficult to go ahead with the one-day tour, but we expect the ECB to take a call on the Test tour only later after it re-evaluates the security situation," the sources said.

PTI quoted a BCCI official as saying that England had "strong reservations" about continuing the tour of seven ODIs ending on December 2 followed by a two-Test series from December 11 to 24. "Since the England team has strong reservations of continuing with the tour, we have asked them to give it to us in writing," the official was quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, AFP reported that the England team, which is currently in Bubhaneshwar, having lost the fifth ODI of the series, have already started packing their bags. An official announcement is expected shortly.

England's High Performance squad, which is currently training in Bangalore, is waiting for guidance from the British government on the future of its tour. The squad, which includes Michael Vaughan, Monty Panesar and Andrew Strauss, is scheduled to reach Mumbai on December 3 to play a practice game and train with the England Test squad. When asked about the squad's tour status, an ECB spokesperson said, "We are and continue to be guided by the British foreign office and await further guidance."

More to follow ...

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