SYDNEY, Feb 22: Cricket Australia on Friday said it planned to play the second Test against India in Hyderabad as scheduled next week despite deadly bomb attacks in the city on the eve of the series opener.

The twin blasts on Thursday night killed at least 14 people and wounded dozens more in the southern Indian city, raising questions over whether Australia would play the second Test starting on March 2.

“At this stage there is no reason to doubt that what we have planned in Hyderabad next week will go ahead,” said Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland, who is with the team in Chennai.

“My expectation would be everything would go ahead as planned,” he said in a statement released as the opening match in the four-Test series got underway.

Sutherland said he was happy to continue to Hyderabad where the team is scheduled to arrive on Wednesday.

The team were “very comfortable” (with security), everything has gone absolutely to plan”.

“We will liaise with the relevant authorities over the course of next few days and make any necessary assessments, but the focus here right now in Chennai is around the cricket,” said Sutherland.—AFP