Oz players body terms IPL 'unconfirmed' blacklist threat 'unfair'

Melbourne, Apr 20 (ANI): Reacting to unconfirmed reports, the Australian Cricketers' Association has said it is unfair for players to be blacklisted by the Indian Premier League 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 two crude bomb blasts outside Bangalore's Chinnaswamy Stadium.

ACA chief executive Paul Marsh said the Australian contingent, which includes Adam Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds, Matthew Hayden and Doug Bollinger, felt uneasy since Saturday's blasts.

The unconfirmed reports of an edict circulated by the IPL that any players who left the tournament on security grounds would be disqualified from future tournaments complicated things, The Herald Sun reports.

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.

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. Any human being should have the right to put their personal safety above any other consideration," he said yesterday.

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. (ANI)