Anuradha Dutt, secretary of the Women's Cricket Association of India (WCAI), received the news of New Zealand's cancellation of their tour to India with regret. Having lost to New Zealand in the semi-final of the last CricInfo Women's World Cup, India were keen to play the Kiwis at home and salvage some lost pride. New Zealand Cricket, the controlling body of the game in that country, has pulled the team out of the tour citing security concerns following the developments in Afghanistan.

"The CEO of NZC told us earlier that he would make the decision after considering security implications. And we received a letter today informing us that they were canceling the tour. Although India was not directly related to the problems in Afghanistan, NZC felt that there was enough of a risk to players," said Dutt.

Dutt, however, did not agree completely with the views of NZC CEO Martin Snedden. "I can't really imagine the New Zealand women being in any real danger in India. If you ask me, they'd be much safer here than in many western countries. But it's their psychological perception that matters, and I can't really make a decision for them."

After India's semi-final showing in the CricInfo World Cup, interest in the game has been sufficiently piqued. "As you know, we are already preparing for the next World Cup. When we lost to New Zealand in the semi-final recently, what really handicapped us was the lack of match practice. We would have liked to get more international match experience before the next tour. This cancellation means one tour less for India and that's obviously regrettable," said Dutt.

The WCAI has been doing its best to organise international cricket for the Indian team, and Dutt made it a point to enumerate the various tours lined up.

"We have tried to line up as much international cricket as possible. That's what keeps the players on their toes. We have England coming here in February, then we go to South Africa in March and on to England in July," she said.

Talking about the impact that the cancellation of the tour would have on the development of the game, Dutt was hopeful that something could still be salvaged from the situation.

"It Is obviously a setback for the development of the game in India. We're speaking to NZC and trying to reschedule the tour for a later date, when things settle down a bit. If we're able to do that then it doesn't make a difference in the larger perspective," she said.

The cancellation is also likely to put a spanner in the works when it comes to garnering sponsorship for women's cricket. The fact that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has not done anything to encourage the development of the game is also proving to be an obstacle.

"The BCCI still hasn't responded in the favourable manner that we would have liked. After the World Cup, there has been an increase in interest. Sponsors are now willing to invest in the game if there's television coverage, and that is a step in the right direction," said Dutt.

Dutt is maintaining an optimistic outlook as ever, but the cancellation of the tour is a fairly serious setback to Indian women's cricket and might even influence the English when they think about their own forthcoming tour of India.

© CricInfo