Sport - Cricket

The game needs India safe: Ponting

Melbourne: India is the nerve centre of cricket and hence the recent Mumbai terror attacks are unnerving not only for the players but also for the game itself, according to Australia captain Ricky Ponting.

Ponting said cricket could not afford an India which is not safe and sought strong leadership to end the crisis that hovers over world cricket.

“It is time for some strong leadership in the game and everybody needs India to be safe. The heads of the Test-playing nations are meeting in South Africa next week and the players’ representatives are getting together in Malaysia,” Ponting wrote in his column for The Australian.

“I know that India and security is the biggest issue they are going to have to deal with. The game cannot afford not to have India involved, from a sporting, cultural and a financial aspect,” he said.

“It’s certainly the centre of the cricketing world at the moment, so the attacks are upsetting for the players and for the game as well. On a purely selfish level you can’t help but think too about the fact that these attacks were aimed at foreigners.

“I feel a responsibility as the captain of the Australian team to show strong leadership and find a way through this. Let us hope for cricket and for India’s sake that things can get back to normal as soon as possible,” he said.

Mourning the Mumbai mayhem, the Australian skipper said, “I can’t stop thinking about the tragic events in India recently. I have probably stayed at the Taj Mahal hotel 15 times over the years and I reckon I know just about every inch of the place.

“It is incredibly sad that something like that has happened in India. It is a country I have really enjoyed touring over the years, even though personally I have never had the best results over there, I think all the players have always enjoyed the place,” he said. — PTI

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