Melbourne, January 26: With the players’ association unlikely to be given access to security arrangements, Australian cricketers may have to tour India for this year’s IPL at their own risk.
Political outfit Shiv Sena has threatened that it will not allow any Australian player to play in Maharashtra as a mark of protest against the attacks on Indians Down Under.
The international and Australian players’ associations are anxious to be allowed access to the IPL security arrangements but the organisation, like the Indian cricket board, refuses in principle to deal with agents or players’ associations.
”Negotiations are ongoing,” Paul Marsh, chief executive officer, Australian Cricketers Association (ACA) said.
”No decisions have been made, we need to understand what threats there may be, but that is still up in the air and if they can’t get them to give us access it will make it difficult for us to recommend that the players go, which is not to say it is unsafe, but if we can’t access the plan we are not in a position to say it is OK,” he added.
Players have been asked to contact their respective IPL franchises and request information about the kind of security arrangements as the organisation will not deal with the associations.
But the players have claimed that still have not got any reply to their inquires.
Cameron White, who was caught up in a security scare when it was thought a bag that had contained gun powder was found in a room at the Bangalore Stadium during the Champions League last October, said he was shaken by the encounter.
”We had concerns about playing the match at first and I guess the game was delayed and we ended up going ahead because we got security checks. All we can do as players is put our trust in security and go from there so if the advice is right we will play,” White told The Australian.
South Africa’s Herschelle Gibbs pulled out of the match after the bomb scare. White said he has still not decided whether to travel to India or not.
”At the end of the day the security measures will be put in place and it will be up to the individual players to see if they want to play IPL,” he said.
Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland said he was monitoring the situation.
”Our perspective on that is pretty simple; we’re saddened to hear people taking this sort of approach, we really believe that cricket should be and can be a real bridge between communities all around the world,” he said.
”For the great love of cricket Australians have and Indians have, it can be a really contributing factor to us as people getting closer together.
”We’re saddened to hear that sort of action. In a practical sense for us the real issue is for our players to understand the gravity of the situation and we will do our own research talking to the security people we ordinarily speak to at government and other private sources to really make a judgment and ensure our players are as best informed as possible before they take steps to go and play in the IPL,” Sutherland added.
–Agencies