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England’s cricket team will decide in the next 24 hours whether to abandon its tour of India, while next week’s Champions League competition is in doubt following terrorist attacks in Mumbai.

England’s two remaining one-day internationals have been postponed and the team is holding discussions about whether to return home or stay for two Test matches, the England and Wales Cricket Board said in a statement. The second Test is scheduled for Mumbai from Dec. 19-23.

“The events of last night were deeply distressing and the situation is still unfolding,” ECB Managing Director Hugh Morris said. “We have reviewed all our security arrangements in the light of these attacks and will be taking all necessary steps to ensure the safety and security of the team.”

Gunmen killed 101 people and injured 287 in raids on five- star hotels targeting foreigners, including the Taj Mahal Palace where teams in the Champions League were due to stay tonight. Terrorists are still holding hostages in the hotel.

England’s Middlesex and Australia’s Victoria and Western Australia have canceled flights to Mumbai ahead of the Dec. 3-10 Champions League. Cricket Australia, one of the event organizers, said it had stopped its teams from traveling.

“Cricket Australia has put an immediate hold on any cricket-related travel to India,” CA spokesman Philip Pope said in an e-mail.

Games Called Off

England will remain in Bhubaneswar overnight and hold discussions with the Board of Control for Cricket in India about continuing the tour. The Indian board agreed to a request from the English, trailing 5-0 in the one-day series, for the two remaining limited-over games to be postponed, Morris said.

Middlesex was due to fly to Mumbai today and to stay at the Taj Mahal. England was booked into the same hotel for the December Test match. Middlesex captain Shaun Udal said he’d been told Champions League games in Mumbai will be switched to Bangalore, the BBC reported.

Cricket Australia General Manager Peter Brown later said a decision on relocating games hadn’t been taken. Speaking to reporters in Melbourne, Brown said his colleague Dean Kino, who was staying in the Taj Mahal, was “safe and well” and had been moved from the hotel.

‘In Doubt’

Kino is in charge of legal and business affairs for Cricket Australia and a member of the Champions League governing council. The Australian cricket body is seeking independent security advice before deciding whether to continue, Brown said.

Javed Akhtar, a spokesman for the Champions League, said in a phone interview organizers will meet today and issue a statement. He wouldn’t comment on plans to move games.

“Our participation and the tournament itself must be in some doubt,” Middlesex coach Toby Radford was quoted saying in the Guardian newspaper. “Personally, I would rather not be anywhere near there.”

The inaugural Champions League is a weeklong Twenty20 tournament involving teams from India, Australia, South Africa and England. Mumbai’s Brabourne stadium is due to stage games on consecutive days from Dec. 3-5.

“The safety of our players is of paramount concern to us at all times,” said Cricket South Africa Chief Executive Officer Gerald Majola. “We will have to wait for guidance from the Department of Foreign Affairs as well as the people on the ground in India before we take any decisions.”

England’s postponed games were scheduled for Guwahati in two days and Delhi on Dec. 2. Ahmedabad is due to hold the first Test from Dec. 11-15.

(Source: Bloomberg)