London, December 4:

England captain Kevin Pietersen wants the team to resume its tour of India to show solidarity in the wake of deadly terrorist attacks, but a final decision will not be made until security reports are assessed on Sunday.

The cricketers flew home last week after at least 171 people were killed in Mumbai, but Pietersen hopes the implementation of strengthened safety measures will allow them to return on Monday. Pietersen said today at Heathrow Airport that the team has “bought ourselves more time” by going to a training camp in Abu Dhabi today while England officials fly to Chennai and Mohali to inspect safety at the two Test venues.

“It is very important we stand shoulder to shoulder with the Indian people in a time of need and do what we love doing, which is playing for England,” Pietersen said. “I’m very confident that if everything goes according to plan in the next couple of days we will have a full squad to pick from. I didn’t persuade anybody, I respect everybody’s individual concerns and respect their decision.

They are men, at the end of the day, and make decisions for themselves.” The team is expected to reach Chennai on Monday, three days ahead of the scheduled December 11 start of the series.

But the southern Indian city’s airport was one of three put on high alert today after the Indian government received warnings of possible airborne attacks.