Becoming sidelined a concern - Modi

Lalit Modi, the BCCI vice-president, has said India could go Pakistan's way in losing out on international series if terrorist attacks continue. In 2008 India has witnessed blasts in Jaipur (during the IPL), Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Guwahati (during Australia's tour), and now Wednesday's terrorist attacks in Mumbai.

"It [India's chances of holding international cricket] is something we need to think about seriously because becoming sidelined like Pakistan due to security threats is something that is logical," Modi told the Times of India. "We have to ensure that the security measures we take are the best. As I said, we shouldn't allow such attacks to disrupt our determination."

Modi, who is also the Champions League chairman, felt the terrorist attacks should not discourage India. "At the end of the day we have a problem and it is of a magnitude never seen before. To deal with it, the government and the Indian Army are working together. On the other hand, we cannot allow anybody to deter us," he said. "The safety of players is paramount and keeping that in mind, the England team left. In the past we have had a blast in Jaipur during the IPL but cricket continued. That's because the security forces understood the situation and gave us the go-ahead."

The BCCI has shifted the second Test between India and England to Chennai, following the Mumbai strikes, with Modi firm the series would go ahead. "In a conversation with our board secretary they [the ECB] discussed the issue and themselves said they would like to come back. Again, the memories of the Taj for an English cricketer can make them sentimental but let's keep sentimental issues aside here," he said.

"In fact, we spoke about rescheduling the remaining two one-dayers because now the Champions League has been postponed. Their only request was to move the Test match out of Mumbai. We said we would examine that and as chairman of tournament and fixtures committee, I was given the task of looking at another venue. They asked us if it could be somewhere down south. Looking into the interest of the ECB, keeping in mind what is logistically possible, we moved the game to Chennai."

However, Kevin Pietersen, England's captain, refused to place pressure on any player who wants to opt out of the series.