RoastedLinuxRound 2 of Indian- Australia rivalry in doubt
September 14th 2008 22:36
The upcoming Border-Gavaskar series could be in doubt after Cricket Australia announced they will conduct an immediate security assessment of India following a series bomb blasts in Delhi on Saturday night.
At least 20 people were killed and 90 injured as five bombs exploded within 45 minutes of each other in crowded areas of the Indian capital.
Australia, who retained the Border-Gavaskar trophy in the Australian summer of 2008, will hold discussions as to whether they will participate in this years series.
Delhi is scheduled to host the third of the four-Test series on October 29.
The 15-man Australian squad, which was announced on Friday, is scheduled to leave for India next Sunday and, with that in mind, CA have said they hoped to complete their review before the end of the week.
"It is standard practice to do an inspection before a tour but with this particular tragic incident overnight, we will be doing a highly intensive security assessment," CA public affairs manager Peter Young said.
"That will be so we can understand the exact circumstances and what risks, if any, we need to be aware of relative to the Australian team and support staff."
Cricket Australia's security manager, Reg Dickason, will file the report in conjunction with CA and the Australian Cricketers' Association (ACA).
Dickason and operations manager Michael Brown are expected on Monday to discuss the potential risks of touring India with officials from Australia's foreign ministry, the country's High Commission in Delhi and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
Niranjan Shah, the secretary of the BCCI, admitted he was concerned by the bombings, but was positive about the prospect of the series going ahead, telling the Hindustan Times: "I don't think it will have any impact on the coming Australia series."
And while Young admitted no Australia players had yet voiced their concerns about the tour, he added they were aware the review was standard procedure in such cases.
"The players are fairly well informed on the approach we take so I would imagine they would be taking it as read that we would be going though this process," he said.
Earlier this year Australia postponed their tour of Pakistan citing security concerns in the country.
The Australian players also voiced their concerns ahead of the decision to re-schedule the Champions Trophy, which was due to be held in Pakistan at present.
The International Cricket Council decided to postpone that tournament after the boards of New Zealand, England and South Africa also flagged their reservations about touring.
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