At times like these there are more important things to think about than cricket, but for England fans Mumbai is not just the venue of terrorist attacks, but the place we're planning to visit soon in order to watch our favourite game. So whilst our thoughts go out to the people of Mumbai and anyone affected by last night's tragic events, my immediate social circle all want to know what I'm planning to do about my impending trip and we expect the phones at Barmy Army towers to go a bit crazy today with similar questions.

And the answer is...we don't know. If the tour goes ahead then you'll probably find most people will take the plunge and visit. All of which begs the bigger question of whether, indeed, the tour should go ahead. Everyone's going to have an opinion on this, so I'm already bracing myself for being told what I'm about to say is nonsense, but here goes.

Evidently safety is paramount and advice needs to be taken both from the Indian authorities and British Government. But there's something nagging at the back of my brain that says we should continue if at all possible. There are three reasons for this: firstly, if we don't tour the terrorists have won. They've disrupted the world yet again. Also, for the people of Mumbai having to deal with the aftermath of these events they could probably do with something to look forward to. While they're going about their daily lives in the city it would be a shame if this was enough to put the rest of the word off visiting.

But the bit that keeps coming back to me is this. I live in London. Three years ago we had terror attacks of our own. Speaking to my friend in Mumbai there is a similar feeling over there right now as there was here on that terrible day in 2005. And where was I two weeks after those attacks? Sat at Lord's watching the first Test between England and Australia. Indeed, London hosted two ODIs and a Test in the two and a half weeks immediately after July 7.

I don't know enough about the situation in Mumbai now to make a decision, but I hope for our Indian friends' sake that we try everything we can to make it happen rather than simply walk away without trying to make it work. At the same time it’s worth remembering: it is only cricket.

Because even I am not fortunate enough to travel abroad for both the ODIs and the Test matches, I watch the former from the comfort of my couch. There's something vaguely reassuring about getting out of bed in the middle of the night (somehow a lot easier in order to watch cricket than for any other reason) to watch England playing abroad.

While the good people of India go about their daily business, I'm guessing an immense percentage of the population is either trying to watch the game or constantly asking for updates. In England there's no sense of the whole country watching events unfold. Instead you know that across the country a bunch of dedicated, or slightly bonkers, fans are watching the game alone as the non-cricket lovers in their households continue to sleep.

But while I might have been watching the game in solitude, the wonders of modern technology mean you are never truly alone. Whilst watching the game this morning I had a chat online to a friend in Mumbai, another to a fellow Barmy Army fan 50 miles away from me and read the comments of both English and India fans on Cricinfo's live commentary. So thank you, internet, for bringing the cricket community across the globe together... now if you could just do something about England's batting line up.

Whether you thought my last little missive was purely the rantings of an extremely selfish man, or someone who had a very valid point about the Test venues we are due to visit in India, I'd like to think most people will have some sympathy today. Because it's safe to say I was less than impressed to see that the BCCI has asked the ECB to move the dates of the first Test match in Ahmedabad. That's a Test match that starts in, oh, three weeks' time.

Apparently it's because MS Dhoni might be playing in the Champions League final the day before. I can see why this might be something of an issue, but perhaps one they might have wanted to consider when the dates first materialised. Because what no-one seems to have given a second's thought is that some of us have made plans around those dates.

I mentioned in my last dispatch that I wasn't overly enthusiastic about going to Ahmedabad. I'm sorry if I offended anyone there and look forward to being proved wrong, but the fact is I, along with many of my fellow fans, have a flight the day before the Test and a flight out the day after. I can handle a day before – nothing like a bit of exploring – but if they change the dates of the Test I'm going to end up with a flight on the fifth day of the game. Some would say that won't be an issue the way we're playing in the ODIs, but I'd like the opportunity to see the end of the Test if it does go that far.

I know I'm not remotely important in the cricket world and yes I am fortunate enough to be in a position to go at all, but you'd like to think at some point someone might turn round and consider the hardy souls who have planned a trip around Test match dates... but I won't be holding my breath.

If Lord's is indeed the cathedral of cricket, the home of cricket or any other moniker it is deserving of, there is one pilgrimage the hardcore travelling cricket fan wants to make and that is to Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Lord's is on our doorstep but this holy grail seems ever elusive – England's last appearance there in a Test was 15 years ago before the Barmy Army came into existence. All of which makes our trip to Ahmedabad seem more galling.

Those of us who are fortunate enough to embark on every cricket tour that England play don't have to make the difficult decision of which tour to go on with limited time and money available. Some save years just for one tour, others have to choose between one or the other winter tour. And this winter that choice comes down to India v Caribbean. The average supporter is going to head for the sun-drenched beaches of the West Indies every time, which is understandable, but that choice was made a lot easier by the choice of host venues in India.

India is an incredible country – diverse, manic, culturally thrilling – and it's also one of the few Test playing nations with a wide variety of Test venues. Yet sadly no-one's getting too excited about either of the winter destinations. I'm trying my best to keep an open mind on Ahmedabad, but as Scyld Berry is quoted on this very site describing it as "without doubt the most unpopular venue on the whole international cricket circuit" it's difficult to get excited about it. It is not just purely because Ahmedabad is a dry state that there will not be a huge Barmy Army presence at that Test, but the fact it has little else to offer. Mumbai is certainly a more attractive option, but means returning to a venue we were at just a couple of years ago.

And before you think this is just a whinge about me not getting to go where I want to go like a sultry teenager asking his parents to go to Disneyland when they want to visit Dorset, there is a wider issue here. Before you go thinking I'm an ungrateful sod who should be glad to have the chance to visit these places in the first place, which I am (glad, not ungrateful that is) it's just that as Test cricket battles against the onslaught of Twenty20 it would have a better chance if it was made a more attractive proposition to attend.

The fourth Test between India and Australia was played in a beautiful stadium in Nagpur. Unfortunately it was empty because it's 12 kilometres out of town and tickets are three times the average daily wage. The IPL recognised the need to fill stadia to get people excited about the tournament and to make the spectacle look more attractive on television and introduced measures to make it happen. If we do the same for Tests, whether making it more affordable to locals and more attractive to potential overseas supporters, we might just get the fans flowing back... and I might just get that trip to Eden Gardens at some point.