Just the other day, Indian cricketers were talking of their reservation about touring Pakistan. Today, India falls in the same bracket with Pakistan, thanks to the serial blasts in Mumbai. How does it affect the image of India as a nation is a matter of international politics, but our team in Cricket360.com has come to find that this tragic event had hit the upcoming cricket too hard - and it is official.

The first to get the blow is the ongoing ODI Series against England; with the last two matches being called off, India has missed the chance of wrapping up of the series 7-0. The fate of the next month’s two Test-series is also doubtful. The second Test match was supposed to be held in Mumbai and following the blast, Mumbai has been ruled out as the possible venue for the match. Eden Gardens is a strong contender, but the Board hints at one of the “Southern cities” - most probably Chennai.

Well, the next casualty of the terrorist attack is the inaugural Champions League Twenty-20. And as you can recall, this is the second time that the tournament is slapped by a postponement. The next victim is Indian Cricket League that too called off the remaining two matches of its World Series Tournament running in its second season.

Now coming to the domestic cricket which too has been hit by the blast; the Elite Division Group A Ranji Trophy match between Mumbai and Hyderabad, which was supposed be held in Mumbai, has now been postponed and rescheduled for 2nd December onward.

The blast seemed to affect individuals too. The IPL committee’s hearing into the doping case of Pakistani paceman Mohammad Asif was scheduled for 29th November. It has been postponed for indefinite period. On the other hand, with Champion’s League Twenty-20 being postponed, dada’s debut as a commentator with ESPN STAR Sports has been postponed too. And last but not least; the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower which remained the official and unofficial cricket hot-spot of the city - BCCI’s official hotel for decades and the place where Azharuddin went public for the first time with his affair with Sangeeta Bijlani fourteen years ago -  probably would lose her gloss for ever, especially among the cricketers.

The bottom line is, as Gavaskar likes to put it: “cricket after all is just a sport and while there is a lot of pride and honor in representing your country, it is not a life and death issue when compared to what happened to the common man in Mumbai.”

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3.25 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."

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