Delhi Blasts Put Australian Tour in Jeopardy

The impact of the blasts that rocked New Delhi last evening will only become apparent in the days to come. Even sport seems to be entangled in the mess of terror attacks.

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First, it was the Champions Trophy in Pakistan that was at the receiving end of a harsh decision. These latest attacks that undermined India’s security arrangements have also case a cloud of the upcoming Australian tour to India.

The BCCI has tried to quell the first signs of reluctance from the Australian cricketers and Cricket Australia. However, in the aftermath of the serial blasts that took the country by shock given the security in the capital of the country as also the precedence of serial blasts that have rocked other important city centres in the recent past in Mumbai, Jaipur, Ahmedabad and Bangalore, Cricket Australia may perhaps require greater reassurance if the tour is to go ahead.

The first indications of discomfort become apparent when the upbeat mood regarding touring India was marred by the sudden spate of blasts that has forced the cricket officials to want to have a re-look at the security concerns before sending their players over. The convincing would perhaps be an easier task that the one that took place with regards to the Champions Trophy. However, it will be no less intense given the unpredictable nature of these blasts as also the random choice of targets of cities.

The bomb blasts, devised to destabilise the environments and the various wings of establishment that have put India on the road map to development have also already raised plenty of concerns previously for the economy of sport as well when the IPL was hit by the Jaipur blasts when some foreign players like Graeme Smith, Shane Watson and Shane Warne were persuaded on to play for the Rajasthan Royals.

Terror attacks such as these could further undermine the cricket culture thriving in this country and the bigger business pursuit that India has become. There are lives at stake; many innocent lives already claimed. How the situation is tackled will determine how the future of India, including that of sport, shapes up in global dimensions.

A silent prayer, meanwhile, for those that have been hit hard as a result of these unfortunate, highly uncondonable events.