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Australian Cricketers’ Association chief executive Paul Marsh says it’s unfair for players to be blacklisted by the Indian Premier League (IPL) if they quit the tournament over security fears.
Twelve Australian players still have an involvement in the lucrative Twenty20 tournament, which on Saturday was marred by bomb blasts outside Bangalore’s Chinnaswamy Stadium just before a game.
The blasts, described by authorities as “low intensity”, left at least 10 people injured and forced the IPL to re-schedule this week’s semi-finals from Bangalore to Mumbai.
The tournament concludes on Sunday.
Marsh said the Australian contingent – which includes Adam Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds, Matthew Hayden and Doug Bollinger – felt uneasy since Saturday’s blasts.
That uneasiness is likely to be complicated by reports of an edict circulated by the IPL that any players who left the tournament on security grounds would be disqualified from future tournaments.
All players will be up for auction in the lead-up to next year’s edition, which could bump up the asking prices on many players.
Marsh was unsure whether the IPL threat existed, however similar reports surfaced during the inaugural tournament in 2008 after blasts in Jaipur left more than 80 people dead.
The 2009 edition was staged in South Africa because of security concerns in India.
Marsh said it was unreasonable for players to face the threat of future disqualification when security was a concern.
“You would hope that players wouldn’t be punished for making decisions based on very reasonable security grounds,” he told AAP on Monday.
“Any human being should have the right to put their personal safety above any other consideration.
“In fairness that threat has been mooted, but … no one’s confirmed those threats have been made.
“No doubt that’s something that would be in the forefront of players’ minds, not just the Australian players, but all players, and it would be a disappointing state of affairs if those type of threats were made.”
Marsh said players had welcomed the IPL’s decision to re-schedule the semi-finals to Mumbai, but admitted “there’s definitely a level of uneasiness” among the Australians still in India.
Marsh said that was exemplified by the fact the ACA could provide only limited information to players, as the association did not have a direct link to IPL franchises.
“That’s when it becomes concerning because when there are issues, the IPL won’t deal with the player associations,” he said.
“Yes, there Australian players over there but by and large it’s out of our control over there.”
Marsh said the association had presented players with information before the IPL began, but it was the players’ calls on whether they played in India.
He said it was too early to say what impact, if any, the latest bomb blasts would have on future Australian tours of India.
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