Tour must go on

By the time I had switched on the TV yesterday, the result of the India-England match was irrelevant. The terror attacks in Mumbai naturally overshadowed mere cricket. It is natural and understandable that England should want to call off the tour and go home. News reports suggest that the rest of the matches have been postponed. A postponement can last more than a year or can be used as a diplomatic term for abandonment.

I feel that the tour must continue fairly promptly, even if England take a break to let things calm down and return after Christmas. England owe it to India and their fans to demonstrate that life must go on after such senseless carnage. The cliche about not letting the terrorists win can sound trite, but it is a valid one. Even though reports suggested that the terrorists were seeking British and Americans, the bulk of those who died or were wounded were Indians. England should stay and compete as a mark of respect to them.

Naturally, the protection of the England players is paramount to the ECB. I am sure that everything will be done to ensure their safety. It might be wise to move the second Test from Bombay. But our shared humanity and the demonstration of the continuation of normal life in the face of those who want to take away our freedom is also important. If we wanted to ensure that everyone was 100 per cent safe from terrorist attacks all the time, no one would travel on trains or enter restaurants in urban areas. The cancellation of the tour wouldn’t remove the threat, but nor, I feel, would its continuation enhance the threat.

There is no use in conducting the rest of the ODI series especially after these threats, and a 5-0 whitewash. But the Test Series has to go on in order to show the people that cricket can help in restoration of peace.

Life has to go on, otherwise we become paralysed by fear. We live in a dangerous world but generally the security services protect us. Playing a Test match is no more dangerous than attending the market. The best tribute to those who died in the latest shocking attacks would be to play on in their memory.