The tourists have received an offer from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to shift the second Test out of Mumbai where more than 100 people were killed in coordinated attacks by armed militants.
England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) official Hugh Morris told reporters here he was weighing several options, including going back home soon and returning for the Test series from Dec 11.
“We are looking at a number of different options and that is one of the options we are looking at,” Morris said.
“Clearly where England go to play cricket we have security advice, we act on that security advice and if that says it is safe and secure for players and management to go, that is what we will do.
“This is a tragic event and the players feel desperately sorry for all that are caught up in the event in Mumbai. They’re very disturbed by it all as we all are.”
BCCI vice-president Lalit Modi was quoted as saying by local media that he was confident the two-Test series will go ahead as scheduled.
“The two Test matches are going on, the only issue is that the Mumbai Test will be moved,” Modi was quoted as saying. “It could be moved to another venue, but we have to see which venues are available.”
The first Test is due to be played in the western city of Ahmedabad from Dec 11, while the second was at Mumbai from Dec 19.
Earlier on Thursday the BCCI cancelled the last two one-dayers of the seven-match series and also postponed the cash-rich Twenty20 Champions League due to security fears.
The games in Guwahati on Saturday and New Delhi on Dec 2 held only academic interest with India having already taken a 5-0 lead over Kevin Pietersen’s men.
ECB’s Morris spent the day speaking to BCCI secretary N. Srinivasan in Bhubaneswar, the city adjoining Cuttack where the fifth one-dayer was played on Wednesday night.
England’s High Performance squad, which is currently training in Bangalore, was also awaiting guidance from the British government on the future of its own tour.
The squad, which includes former captain Michael Vaughan and current Test stars Monty Panesar and Andrew Strauss, was scheduled to reach Mumbai on December 3 to play a practice game.
The attacks also forced hosts India to postpone next month’s inaugural Twenty20 Champions League indefinitely over security fears.
The six-million dollar event, featuring the top eight Twenty20 domestic teams from Australia, South Africa, India, England and Pakistan, was due to be held from Dec 3-10 in Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore.
“It was agreed that in the best interests of all concerned, the inaugural edition of the Champions League should be postponed,” League chairman Lalit Modi said in a statement.
Modi did not say when the tournament would be played.
The teams taking part were Victoria and Western Australia (Australia), Dolphins and Titans (South Africa), Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals (India), Middlesex (England) and Sialkot Stallions (Pakistan).
The cancellation of England’s tour comes as the Indian government is debating whether to send a cricket team to strife-torn Pakistan in January for a Test and one-day series.—AFP