NEW DELHI (AP):

The itinerary for the England cricket team's tour of India has been altered after terrorist attacks in Mumbai last week, the Board of Control for Cricket in India said yesterday.

The opening Test match will now be played from December 11-15 in the southern city of Chennai and the northern Indian city of Mohali will host the second Test from December 19-23.

Chennai was chosen as an alternative venue to Mumbai, where terrorist attacks killed at least 172 people last week. The Indian board also changed the venue of the other Test match from Ahmadabad, which had originally been set to host the opening Test.

The lone warm-up game from December 5-7 was dropped from the schedule, Indian cricket board secretary N. Srinivasan said yesterday.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) would give clearance to the tour only after its security expert had assessed the venues, Srinivasan added.

The two cricket boards are exploring the chances of playing the Test matches as originally scheduled even after England's cricketers returned home following the attack on Mumbai.

The last two one-dayers of the seven-match series, which India lead 5-0, were cancelled.

The ECB also asked its second-string performance squad to return home from Bangalore.

England had originally been scheduled to return on December 16 to Mumbai's Taj Mahal Palace hotel, one of two luxury hotels targeted in the attacks.

Indian organisers have also postponed the Champions League Twenty20 tournament that was to be played from December 3-10 at three venues - Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore.