Pietersen says England will consider returning to India for Tests

Bhubhaneshwar: England captain Kevin Pietersen has said he and his team will make every possible effort in returning to India to play out the two-Test series in December.

Pietersen and the rest of the England team fly out of India on Saturday morning after agreeing with the BCCI to abandon the seven-match ODI series in the light of the terror attacks in Mumbai, the financial capital of India.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the BCCI held meetings behind closed doors on Thursday, and it was announced later on Thursday that both parties had agreed that the Test series would be played out as scheduled, the only change being the second Test being shifted out of Mumbai and moved to somewhere in south India.

Pietersen told BBC Sport on Friday, "We will make every effort to come back and play in the Tests, but at the end of the day if it's not safe we won't be coming back."

"I'll never force anybody to do anything. A man is a man and he can make his own decisions for himself."

ECB managing director Hugh Morris too confirmed on Thursday that as things stood, his board was contemplating to send the team back to India for the Test series, providing security assessments done by agencies filed satisfactory reports.