Ricky Ponting is escorted by a security personnel at the Sanganer Airport in Jaipur on Monday. (PTI)

Calcutta/Jaipur: Australia arrived in India on Monday for a four-Test series starting next month with captain Ricky Ponting saying that players’ safety was paramount after a series of bombs in New Delhi on September 13.

Australia decided to go ahead with the tour only after a security review following the blasts in the Indian capital that killed at least 20 people and injured more than 90.

Ponting said the safety of the touring party would continue to be monitored throughout the tour.

“With the state of the world and the state of some of the countries that we’re playing in, it’s vitally important that me as captain and all the players in this national team are kept in the loop as much as possible and as often as possible,” he said on Cricket Australia’s website.

Australia’s planned tour of Pakistan and this year’s Champions Trophy in Pakistan were both postponed because of security fears.

On Saturday, a suicide truck-bomb attack on the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad killed at least 53 people.

“It is an absolute shame that things like this continue to happen in Pakistan because, believe it or not, as players you want to travel all round the world and you want to play in all the conditions around the world,” Ponting said.

“Unfortunately right now at the moment there’s no way that we can be touring Pakistan.”

The Australian cricket team arrived in Mumbai and proceeded to Jaipur, where they will play a two-day practice match against Rajasthan Cricket Association’s (RCA) Centre of Excellence team, prior to the four-Test series commencing on October 9.

They will arrive in Hyderabad on Monday for the four-day game against the Board President’s XI, which will begin on 2nd October.

The 15-member squad, which was received by RCA officials at Sanganer airport, was immediately taken to the team hotel amid tight security.

The visitors, accompanied by former India coach Greg Chappell, are scheduled to hold practice sessions for three days before the warm up game, starting on September 27.

Chappell, now in charge of the Centre of Excellence in Brisbane, is also an advisor of the Rajasthan Cricket Academy.

The cricketers would leave for Hyderabad on Monday.

“We have arranged all facilities for the visiting team. Wickets are of different nature, including variable bounce and spinning tracks, have been prepared for them,” Bimal Soni, deputy president of RCA said.

The first Test against India will be held in Bangalore. The remaining Tests are in Mohali, Delhi and Nagpur.