Australia's tour of India will go ahead after a security review recommended the players would be safe to travel to the country, despite recent bombings.

At least 20 people were killed and 90 injured when five devices went off in busy shopping Twenty people killed in bomb attacks in New Delhi ...
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Tribe in Rajasthan quota deal ... areas around New Delhi last week.

"We have done a review and the advice has not changed since last week," said a Cricket Australia (CA) spokesman.

"The safety and security advice is, broadly speaking, to exercise caution."

More than 400 people have died since late 2005 in bombings at Indian cities.

Australia cancelled a tour of Pakistan earlier this year and were one of several nations to express fears over the hosting of the Champions Trophy, which was subsequently postponed from this month to October 2009.

The spokesman added: "We will have security in place around the senior team, which is what we always were going to have.

"In very broad terms the advice we have is in sharp contrast to what we had for Pakistan, which was that it was not safe to travel because the attacks there were targeting westerners.

"The problems in India are completely different in intensity and of a different nature."

CA consulted the Indian Cricket Board (BCCI) and has arranged for an upgrade of security in and around the dressing rooms, while the team will be escorted to and from the grounds during the four-Test tour.

Players will still be allowed to venture outside of the team hotels "within prudent guidelines".

Australia's A team are already playing in India in a Tri-Series against New Zealand and India, and their manager Justin Sternes insisted there had been no sense of panic.

"For these young players getting a game in is more important than anything else - this series means a lot to them," he said.

Australia are set to leave for India on Sunday, starting the tour with warm-up matches in Jaipur and Hyderabad.

The first Test is scheduled to start in Bangalore on 9 October, with subsequent Tests in Mohali, Delhi and Nagpur.

Responsibility for the recent blasts was claimed by a Muslim militant group in an e-mail sent to Indian media outlets. The same group has claimed responsibility for two other bomb attacks in Jaipur and Bangalore.

(BBC)

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