England call off rest of ODI series against India

New Delhi: England have called off the rest of their India tour in the wake of the terror attacks in Mumbai.

"The BCCI has accepted the request of the ECB to cut short the one-day series in light of the disturbing events in Mumbai. The last two ODIs have been called off as a result," BCCI secretary N Srinivasan said in a statement.

The England team which was meant to travel to Guwahati on Thursday for the sixth ODI is at the moment staying put in Cuttack. CNN-IBN learnt that the players were reluctant to continue the tour and have ruled out the possibility to play the second Test in Mumbai on November 19 as per schedule.

"We are and will be continued to be guided by our foreign office. And at the moment we are in discussion with the foreign office," said the ECB officials. The England Performance Excellence Squad that is in Bangalore and has players like Monty Panesar, Andrew Strauss and Michael Vaughan will for now continue to stay in Bangalore.

BCCI sources say they are monitoring the situation closely and no decision will be made in haste. Some of these teams were meant to be staying at the two hotels in Mumbai where the attacks have taken place.

Rajasthan Royals captain Shane Warne who was on his way to Mumbai, has stayed back in Singapore where he was in transit, waiting for further instructions.

The terror strikes in Mumbai since Wednesday night have also affected the Middlesex cricket team which was due to fly down to the city at 10am on Thursday.

The team was coming to participate in the Champions League which starts on December 3. The Middlesex team now has cancelled their plans for the next 24 hours and will wait for a security assessment before scheduling their flights as the Champions League matches scheduled for Mumbai have been shifted to Bangalore.

Cricket Australia is taking security advice but in the meantime has halted all travel to India where Matthew Hayden, Shane Watson, Michael Hussey were due to represent Indian franchises.

The Victorian and Western Australian teams were due to depart for India on Saturday, and the Victorians are understood to be booked into the Taj Mahal Hotel on Mumbai's Colaba tourist strip.

The Taj was a primary target in Wednesday's attacks, and terrorists are currently holding foreign hostages in the hotel. Warne and Rajasthan director of coaching Darren Berry had already begun their journey and were advised to remain in Singapore when news of the attacks broke.

"Warney and I got off the plane (in Singapore) and got on the Wi-Fi straight away and got a call from somebody in Australia saying whatever you do, don't go to Mumbai," Berry told The Age from Changi International Airport.

"So we're in a holding pattern as everyone is. I can't make any comment because I don't know anything."

"All I can say is that Warney and I are safe, we're in Singapore and we're contemplating our next move. That is all we can do."