England call off India tour
England's tour of India has been called off following Wednesday's terrorist strikes in Mumbai, BCCI officials confirmed that the remaining ODI portion of the tour was cancelled though the two-Test series may yet be salvaged. Other reports, however, suggest that the entire tour may be off.

"At this point of time, it is difficult to go ahead with the one-day tour, but we expect the ECB to take a call on the Test tour only later after it re-evaluates the security situation," the source said.

A BCCI official was quoted on PTI as saying England had "strong reservations" about continuing the tour of seven ODIs ending on December 2 followed by a two-Test series from December 11 to 23. "Since the England team has strong reservations, we have asked them to give it to us in writing," the official was quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, AFP reported that the England team, currently in Bhubaneshwar, has already started preparing to return home. An official announcement is expected shortly.

England's High Performance squad, which is currently training in Bangalore, is waiting for guidance from the British government on the future of its tour. The squad, which includes Michael Vaughan, Monty Panesar and Andrew Strauss, is scheduled to reach Mumbai on December 3 to play a practice game and train with the England Test squad. When asked about the squad's tour status, an ECB spokesperson said, "We are and continue to be guided by the British foreign office and await further guidance."

The strikes, including blasts and shooting incidents, were spread out across the city but the majority of them were in south Mumbai, the main tourist hub. In the early hours of Thursday morning, a major blaze was sweeping through the Taj Mahal hotel, a city landmark and the scene of one such attack, which was to host the two Test teams and was where the England side stayed during their warm-up period in Mumbai.

It is also where Middlesex were set to check-in on Thursday for their Champions League fixtures. Middlesex were due to leave London for Mumbai at 10am on Thursday to prepare for the Champions League but postponed their departure by 24 hours after being told that matches scheduled for Mumbai would be switched to Bangalore.

The Brabourne Stadium, venue of the second Test and scheduled to host three Champions League games, is in the middle of the area where most attacks have taken place. It is also the vicinity where most foreign tourists are likely to stay.