England tour to India okayed

Due to the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, the Test matches at Chennai and Mohali in India were doubtful. Geoffrey Boycott of England and some other critics voiced their opinion that the Test series of England in India must be re-scheduled. There were reports that minimum 5 to 6 British cricketers would pull out of the squad. Following these reports, Graham Gooch joined Boycott to rescind the Test series. However, the recent news is that this tour has been cleared and now the only hurdle is the final security check.

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The ICC president, David Morgan never acceded with Boycott and other critics that the tour dates ought to be altered. In the Daily Telegraph he said that “I have seen British writers criticizing the England and Wales Cricket Board for wanting to return while the disaster is still ‘raw’ in India. In my view they are failing to understand that it isn’t for British people to make a judgment on what people in India want. It is quite clear that the people who run cricket in India want the game to resume as soon as possible. Wouldn’t we want the same here if the boot was on the other foot?” Mr. Morgan agreed with Geoff Boycott that the players would not be in a correct state of mind, but he added that the same applies for the Indian players as well. Morgan’s commented that one must speculate about the game of cricket and the business of cricket. It is not worthwhile to permit the terrorists to triumph.