India will probably be a much safer place now: Waugh

Waugh said abandoning of an ODI series by England and postponement of the T20 Champions League were short-term reactions and everything will limp back to normalcy after a while albeit with heightened security and scepticism.

8220;Perversely, after such a major incident India will probably be a much safer place to be than previously, for security will reach unprecedented levels at airports, five-star hotels and places where people congregate. But such is human nature that confidence will be hard to restore in the short term,8221; he explained.

8220;Time is a great healer but, much like 9/11, life on the subcontinent will never be the same. The need for security will be paramount and this will affect all facets of life,8221; he added. The former Aussie skipper felt the terror attack was just one of the crisis facing the game8217;s administrators. 8220;The danger to cricket is that the game needs India and any long-term interruption will have major ramifications. At present we have Pakistan cricket crippled by the threat of terrorism, Sri Lanka regularly blighted by a civil war and Zimbabwe mismanaged by corrupt administrators and government. The game is on the verge of a crisis and clear, concise thinking will be required from the various cricketing bodies to make sure that the correct decisions are made,8221; he opined.

8220;I have travelled to this amazing country that bombards and heightens your senses for the past 22 years and have frequented both the Taj Mahal and Oberoi hotels regularly. I have always felt safe and secure there,8221; he said.

Waugh recalled how he himself defied the briefing advice and took strolls down the streets 8220;to see the real India and capture it through my lens to give me a sense of freedom and reality.8221;

8220;Sadly now this sense of innocence has been extinguished and touring life for future cricket teams will revolve around club sandwiches and in-house movies,8221; he said.

Meanwhile, former England captains Bob Willis and David Gower have joined Ian Botham and Mike Atherton have backed the decision to abandon the one-day series but felt if England do not return to India for the two Tests.

8220;If India is deemed safe before first Test in Ahmedabad on December 11 and the second in Chennai, they should go and play. Otherwise no one will come to England 8212; teams will say we are as much a terrorist target as any country. I hope that within a fortnight, things will have settled down,8221; he said.

Decision in 48 hours: KP

London: The BCCI may make 8220;every single effort8221; to salvage England8217;s Test series but captain Kevin Pietersen insists that his team will not rush to a decision and carefully mull whether it is worth risking the lives of players by returning to India. 8220;I do think the BCCI will make every single effort to get us back here playing Test-match cricket in India. There are TV rights and financial considerations and they run world cricket don8217;t they? But we will not come back to India if it8217;s not safe. My life means more to me than anything else and I won8217;t come back if it8217;s not safe,8221; Pietersen said. 8220;It will be a security decision and then we8217;ll be guided by the ECB. 8220;We8217;ll make a decision on it over the next 48 to 72 hours. Our decision will be guided by security, the ECB and Reg Dickason, our security advisor8221;, Pietersen said.

He said the team had a hard time in pacifying their families that they were safe. 8220;I bet all the guys lost a whole battery on their mobiles with calls from friends and relatives and kids saying 8216;Daddy where are you, what8217;s the story?8217;8221; he was quoted by The Guardian.