Collingwood still expects to play in IPL

Paul Collingwood, who has been in sparkling form in the West Indies, still intends to play in the IPL after the tour

Paul Collingwood intends to feature in this year's Indian Premier League in the aftermath of the Lahore terrorist attack.

England star Collingwood has a contract with Delhi Daredevils and expects to fulfil it, security permitting, despite cricket's latest disruption due to terrorism.

Collingwood, 32, was at the forefront of those willing to return to India for the Test series before Christmas, following the horrific attack on Mumbai.

Other leading England players scheduled to join the IPL's second season are Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Flintoff, Owais Shah and Ravi Bopara.

"As things unfold we will know more about what is being put in place by the IPL, but having been back to India before Christmas the security we had felt pretty good and at this stage I'm continuing as normal," Collingwood confirmed.

"Of course, when something as tragic as this happens, thoughts do cross your mind and you do question things a bit because we've all been in similar situations travelling to and from games like that.

"I'd be lying if I didn't say that something like this raises concerns in your mind, but I'm not about to make any decisions on it. The right thing to do is to wait and see how things go from here.

"In many ways it is something that will feel very close to every cricketer around the world, but this is something that happened in Pakistan and not in India.”

England are currently in the more relaxed environment of the Caribbean, preparing for the fifth Test against West Indies in Trinidad.

Reg Dickason is keeping all England's IPL players abrest with the safety situation in the Subcontinent

Their security advisor Reg Dickason is now a permanent member of tours and was integral to last year's Champions Trophy, scheduled to be held in Pakistan, being scrapped after carrying out a safety audit for various cricketing bodies.

Dickason assesses risk levels for England for all their overseas ventures and has done so on behalf of the board for all those centrally-contracted players scheduled to play in the IPL in April.

"The goalposts have changed forever now and we will have to have some more robust plans going forward, I suppose," Dickason said, in relation to the attack on the Sri Lanka team.

"Now it is very clear to people that we have to plan for the worst and hope for the best all the time.

"There is always a risk whether it's the sub-continent or elsewhere. Whether it has been heightened by this, I don't know.

"It is just a matter of assessing the risk and putting the right measures in place to mitigate them as much as you possibly can.

"It is always a work in progress. We assess it a fair way out but we monitor right up to the event and during and if there is any radical change we certainly make changes to the way we operate."