England captain Kevin Pietersen says his team may have to play the Test series against India in blue. That's because its kit was left behind at the Taj hotel, in Mumbai, which came under the just-ended terrorist attack.
The English players left their Test kits at the hotel before the seven-match ODI series, which was abandoned with them trailing 0-5 because of the mayhem in Mumbai.
"If we're looking what's going on at the moment, all our cricket stuff is in storage at the Taj hotel; so we'll be the first team to play a Test match in blues [one-day kit]; that's for sure. So I don't know. If we do come back, we'll have to get all the logistic stuff sorted out first," Pietersen was quoted as saying by the Daily Telegraph.
"The decision to go back to London will buy us some time and if we need to fly back to India on Monday or Tuesday or Wednesday next week then so be it," he added.
The players are expected to be back in India for a two-match Test series, starting in Ahmedabad on December 11. The Taj hotel suffered extensive damage during the gun battle between terrorists and NSG commandos and it is too early to ascertain whether the kits have been damaged.
The English team left Bangalore early Saturday morning for London. Their board had assured the Board of Control for Cricket in India that they would come back to play the Test series unless the security scenario in India does not worsen dramatically.
The BCCI has already moved the second Test from Mumbai to Chennai, besides fixing up a three-day warm-up game at Baroda from December 5-7.