England’s tour of India has been put on hold in the wake of Wednesday night’s horrifying terrorist attacks in Mumbai.

With security issues in India still a major cause for concern, the tourists have definitely decided to cancel the two remaining ODIs, but talks are to be held over the next 24 hours in a frantic bid to ensure that the two Test series scheduled for December goes ahead.

Early reports on Thursday had claimed that England's entire tour had been cancelled by the ECB, with one official, who requested anonimity pending a formal announcement, saying that the England team had expressed reservations about continuing the tour and had conveyed their concerns to the BCCI.

However it has since been announced that Kevin Pietersen and his side will stay at their base in Bhubaneswar for the time being while talks continue with India's cricketing authorites.

Regarding the fate of the two-match Test series scheduled to start in Ahmedabad from December 11, the BCCI secretary said, "We hope they will come to play the Test matches." Morris, on his part said they would be holding discussions with Indian Cricket Board officials on the Test series.

In a statement, ECB Managing Director, England Cricket, Hugh Morris said: "On behalf of the Board and the England team, we would like to express our condolences to the families and friends of those people who were killed or injured in last night's attacks.

"The safety and security of the England team is of the utmost importance to ECB. We have reviewed all our security arrangements in the light of these attacks and will be taking all necessary steps to ensure the safety and security of the team.

"This morning I held initial discussions with the Hon Sec of BCCI, Mr N Srinivasan, as well as representatives from the Indian team management at the team hotel in Bhubaneswar. I have also briefed the England players and management on the situation as well as liaising closely with the ECB Chairman and Chief Executive and the Players' Representatives.

"The events of last night were deeply distressing and the situation is still unfolding. We are urgently seeking information from expert sources regarding last night's attacks and will continue to hold further discussions with our colleagues from the BCCI over the next 24 hours."

England have so far played five one-dayers, losing all the matches to trail the seven-match series 5-0. They were also scheduled to play two Tests in Ahmedabad (Dec 11-15) and Mumbai (Dec 10-23), where at least 100 people were killed in terror attacks on Wednesday.

The tourists were to fly from Cuttack to Guwahati Thursday prior to Saturday's sixth one-day international as part of the seven week tour of India. The final ODI was scheduled to take place in Delhi on December 2.

The fate of the Champions League Twenty20 will also be discussed later on Thursday as the ramifications of Wednesday's horrific events become clearer.