Recent al-Qa'ida threats force many players to reconsider going to India

The 2010 IPL competition is under siege, with the international players' association warning that some members will not attend and that many are concerned by al-Qa'ida threat.

Cricket authorities are worried that any difficulties with the Twenty20 competition will flow-on to the one-day series between Australia and India this year, the Champions League and ODI World Cup next year.

A terrorist organisation with al-Qa'ida links has warned foreign athletes to stay away from the hockey World Cup, the IPL and Commonwealth Games this year in India.

The IPL itself cannot afford another hitch after upsetting franchises and broadcasters last year when it was moved to South Africa after the government refused to guarantee adequate security because of general elections.

Head of the Federation of International Cricketers Association Tim May warned on the BBC yesterday that players were agitated by the threat.

"There is an extremely high level of concern from a number of players from a number of countries about the IPL and security," May said.

"I think you'll find that some players are more risk averse than others and will probably stay at home."

The situation in India appears to be deteriorating with Jaipur police claiming they have received credible intelligence relating to a terrorist threat directed at the one-day international between India and South Africa tomorrow.

"We had previously been advised by security experts that a high-profile event such as the IPL, leading up to the Commonwealth Games, may represent a significant target for terrorism," May said.

"It's obviously concerning, though not necessarily surprising, to hear about those specific threats.

"It's up to the individual players whether they go to the IPL. All we can gauge an opinion on is the number of concerned calls we have received in the last few weeks. Let's just say those calls are increasing by the day.

"Until that review is complete I'm not in a position to answer whether the security arrangements are adequate to cover the risks and I haven't seen any plans. A lot will ride on players' decisions after the delivery of this independent security report."

Early in the week May had condemned the arrogance of the IPL which, under instruction from the BCCI, will not deal with players' associations or directly provide them with security reports.

Australian players, like those in other parts of the world, are waiting on a report from their representatives.

Australian Cricketers Association chief executive Paul Marsh said Friday that the mention of al-Qa'ida had shaken his members.

"We still haven't received the report yet and once we get that we will obviously know what the next steps are," Marsh said.

"There is definitely a concern, not just with our players either.

"We are all working off the same consultants and the same reports but the fact that it is an al- Qa'ida threat is certainly concerning many."

Players are reluctant to express their concerns publicly as anyone who does incurs the wrath of their franchise or the IPL itself.

This week, Shane Warne said he was taking the threats seriously and speculated that the tournament may have to be moved.

He quickly retreated from that position and tournament chief Lalit Modi claimed the Rajasthan Royals player had been "misquoted".

Shaun Tait came out yesterday and said he was eager to attend.

"I've been very keen.

"The last couple of years I haven't been able to play, so I've been looking forward to the IPL this year and I hope it can go ahead," Tait said.

"All the security stuff, that's out of my league, but I hope it does go ahead and everything's fine and I can play.