Kingston, February 26: Players’ bodies in Australia and New Zealand might be fretting over security in the Indian Premier League but the one in West Indies is happy with the arrangements and has backed its cricketers’ participation in the Twenty20 event.
“Apart from being in contact with a number of key IPL personnel, the West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA) has also sought independent advice from organizations which have conducted similar security tests,” WIPA said in a statement.
“WIPA is convinced that the organizers and the government are sparing no effort to ensure that players’ welfare and security are not in any way compromised. WIPA will therefore support its players’ participation in the IPL tournament,” it added.
WIPA becomes the first players’ union to back the IPL’s security set-up even as Australia and New Zealand continue their deliberations.
The heightened security fears have been triggered by a recent Al-Qaeda threat of terror attacks on foreign players coming to India. The players’ bodies in Australia, New Zealand, England and South Africa commissioned an independent security report which found the threats to be credible.
But the IPL organizers have been dismissive of the report’s findings with the league’s commissioner Lalilt Modi criticizing players bodies for being skeptical about security at the cash-awash event.
——–PTI