Modi concerned India could be sidelined

Mumbai: BCCI vice-president Lalit Modi has expressed concerns that India too could be sidelined, similar to Pakistan, after the recent terror attacks on Mumbai.

Modi was commenting after Mumbai witnessed terror attacks on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, which forced the BCCI to abandon the seven-match one-day series against England and postpone the Champions League Twenty20 tournament.

He told The Times of India, "It [India's chances of holding international cricket] is something we need to think about seriously because becoming sidelined like Pakistan due to security threats is something that is logical."

However, he said events such as the Mumbai Terror attacks would not deter India, and that it now meant the Indian government and the BCCI would now have to put together better security arrangements. He said, "We have to ensure that the security measures we take are the best. As I said, we shouldn't allow such attacks to disrupt our determination." 

"At the end of the day we have a problem and it is of a magnitude never seen before. To deal with it, the government and the Indian Army are working together. On the other hand, we cannot allow anybody to deter us," he said.