News

Players' associations frustrated by IPL rebuff

The Australian Cricketers' Association (ACA) wants the IPL to share its security plans for the upcoming season in India

Cricinfo staff
01-Feb-2010
The IPL does not recognise players' associations  •  AFP

The IPL does not recognise players' associations  •  AFP

The Australian Cricketers' Association (ACA) wants the IPL to share its security plans for the upcoming season in India and hopes that "common sense prevails" on the issue. The IPL's attitude towards the players associations has been brusque, with Lalit Modi saying the league did not recognise such bodies and would deal directly with the various national boards regarding player security.
"We hope common sense prevails and the IPL provides us with access to these [security] plans because if we are unable to assess the event's security plans, we simply won't be able to recommend to our players that we believe its safe to play in this year's IPL," ACA chief executive Paul Marsh told PTI. "Unfortunately this is turning into a farcical situation. The ACA and our players want the same thing as the IPL wants - a safe and successful event. Despite requests from players' associations and the players themselves, the IPL is refusing to provide access to its security plans for this year's event."
Marsh said the ACA was collating information on security from various sources before making a recommendation to the players. "No decision has been made as to whether Australians will play in this year's IPL. The ACA is currently going through an information gathering process from which recommendations will be made to players as to whether or not we believe it is safe for them," he said. "This process also involves receiving advice from our government and independent security sources. It also involves assessing the security plans for the event."
The New Zealand Cricket Players' Association also shared the ACA's concerns. Its chief, Heath Mills, said they were frustrated by the lack of response from the IPL. "We have already approached the IPL through FICA and Tim May and the players have written to their franchises," he said. "Unfortunately, the IPL will not engage us or work with us on the issue which is frustrating for us and the players.
"Players are coming to us for advice. However we cannot give them any quality advice at the moment about participating in the IPL as we have no information about the security situation or management plans."
Tony Irish, the South African Cricketers Association (SACA) chief executive, said their players were relying on them for security advice."Players around the world have become increasingly reliant on their Player Associations to check security arrangements so it's only natural that they should want us and our global body involved - at least consulted."