KP 'very confident' of playing Tests

The England team are due to fly to Abu Dhabi today where they will train ahead of the series, which is due to begin on December 11. And while Pietersen said a final decision on whether they will fly to Chennai will not be made until security reports are received on Sunday, he is hopeful his side can return to the stricken country.

"I think it is important that we go back to India and rub shoulder to shoulder with the Indian people in their time of of need," said Pietersen. "We are very focused to play some red-ball cricket. We will assess the situation on Sunday but we are very confident of playing a Test match and we are focused on that."

He added: "We are buying ourselves more time in Abu Dhabi. It is great that the players who went to India are willing to go back.

"But, if the security is right we will go as a collective. We are waiting on a security report from Hugh (Morris), Sean (Morris) and Reg (Dickason), who is out there at the moment."

There were some security concerns on Thursday after local media reports in Chennai quoted the Indian air force chief as saying authorities had received warning of a possible airborne attack. The threat comes as airports were put on high alert following intelligence warnings that terrorists may be planning fresh attacks.

Pietersen said he would let the people charged with checking security make the final decision on such matters.

"My first reaction was to find out what actually happened," he said. "I have only just woken up and seen the news and my first reaction was to come here and speak to Hugh."

Hugh Morris, the managing director of English cricket, said there was obviously concern following the alerts, adding that checks on the security situation in the southern Indian city were ongoing.

"It is obviously concerning," he said. "We need to find out the information surrounding that. I have spoken to our security team in Chennai already this morning. They are finding out the details around the alerts and when they get the information they will feed the information back to me and then I will provide that information to the board."