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International cricket’s players’ union chief Tim May says next month’s Indian Premier League could still be hit by “mass withdrawals” because of security fears.
While May says FICA (Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations) is satisfied that last week’s reported threat from an al-Qaeda cell was “not credible”, he’s awaiting confirmation that regional police will implement the IPL’s security plan.
“If the security situation does not improve, there could be mass withdrawals,” May told the BBC.
“There are just 13 days before the start of the tournament and security arrangements have still not been agreed.
“We would love to tell the players it is okay for them to go.
“But we can’t give that assurance at the moment, because no one will say definitively that the security plan will be implemented at each of the venues.”
Things appear more positive though from an Australian viewpoint, following a briefing Cricket Australia organised for the players at their team hotel in Christchurch on Saturday.
Australian players set to compete in the lucrative IPL tournament were addressed on security issues by an Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) official.
Australia’s tour of New Zealand ends on March 31.
This allows players a window of opportunity to take part in the last few weeks of the March 12-April 25 tournament, which would be a perfect lead-in to the T20 World Cup in the West Indies starting five days later.
“We asked DFAT if they would be prepared to give us some information and in the course of recent discussions, they said they would be happy to give the players a personal briefing,” Brown told reporters in Christchurch.
“(Australian Cricketers’ Association chief) Paul Marsh and Reg Dickason (a security expert currently in Bangladesh) were on the phone, Peter Young from our Cricket Australia office.”
Marsh said his players were keen to attend the event, as long as IPL officials could tick one last box.
“We still haven’t received a commitment that the security plans will be implemented as laid out,” Marsh told AAP.
“The ball is in the IPL’s court at the moment. They can give us the commitment to implement the plans or they can’t. Let’s hope that they can.
“Our understanding is it that they’ve done it before, the BCCI (Indian board) has done it. We keep saying, our players want to go.
“This is the last piece in the puzzle.”
Brown said CA would also have a phone hook-up on Monday with other Australians in the IPL.
“The advice simply from the government is that the travel advisory for India hasn’t changed,” Brown said.
“It’s no different now from when we were there in October.”
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