Ind, NZ players safe in Colombo

Indian cricket authorities are confident about the safety of the national squad playing in a Sri Lankan tournament despite a suicide attack by Tamil Tiger rebels on Colombo's international airport.

"I contacted the Sri Lankan board and the Indian team's administrative manager. There is absolutely no problem," Sharad Diwadkar, executive secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, said from Bombay on Tuesday.

India, New Zealand and the hosts are involved in the one-day triangular tournament which runs until August 5.

"At this particular moment, there is nothing to worry about," said Diwadkar when asked if the tournament might be called off.

New Zealand team manager Jeff Crowe confirmed there had been no safety concerns.

The squad were back in Colombo after a three-day break ahead of their next match against Sri Lanka on Wednesday, Crowe said in a statement released in New Zealand.

The attack closed the airport, forcing passengers to scramble to safety, and left aircraft burning on the tarmac.

Twelve people died in the fighting that ended seven hours after the raid began, the Sri Lankan military said. The dead included several suicide bombers but no civilians.

Mail Cricket Editor