Champions Trophy still on track

MUMBAI: The Mumbai train bombings that have killed over 190 people and reportedly wounded 700 but the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the International Cricket Council (ICC) have both said that it changes nothing when it comes to the ICC Champions Trophy, which will feature five matches in the city including the final. Mumbai is one of four host cities for the October 7 to November 5 event.

“The ICC will be guided by the appropriate personnel about any concerns it may have,” said Brian Murgatroyd, the ICC Manager for Media & Communications. “We do this before every tournament and for the moment, the blasts change nothing.”

“If there are any Boards that have concerns, they too will be guided by the ICC. The tournament is still a few months away, and it is too early to speculate what the situation will be like then.”

“Nobody has shown apprehensions so far,” BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah said. “Our president got an encouraging letter from the Australian board.”

In a letter on Wednesday condemning the blasts, Cricket Australia’s chairman Creagh O’Connor said: “Cricket Australia looks forward to joining the BCCI and the globe’s other cricketing nations at the ICC Champions Trophy... to help you demonstrate that there is more to be gained by coming together to celebrate our diversity than there is in senseless violence which simply sets people apart.”