A day after the cricket board here gave the all-clear for the India tour, Australia skipper Ricky Ponting said on Wednesday that the tour was far from being confirmed and the decision could change depending on the security situation.
“Anything could happen tomorrow, things change very quickly in the world right at the moment,” Ponting told reporters in Canberra.
“Cricket Australia and the government will continue to be in touch. Cricket Australia will keep the players and the players association in the loop on a daily, if not hourly basis,” he added.
CA had declared on Tuesday that the tour would go ahead as scheduled despite Saturday’s serial blasts in New Delhi.
Ponting said no player had so far expressed any apprehensions about touring India but the final call on the matter will come down to what the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s assessment of the situation.
“As a group we haven’t been together. I’m not sure if Cricket Australia have fielded any calls from individual players or families but that wouldn’t be unusual if that was the case,” he said.
Pak still upset
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s anger over Australia’s decision to proceed with their India tour was so seething that a PCB official called the Aussies “lily-livered cowards”, according to a report.
“To talk simply of double-standards would be to understate what we feel. My personal view is that your people are a bunch of lily-livered cowards,” a senior PCB official was quoted as saying by The Australian.
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