Indian militant threat to Aussie cricketers
A militant right-wing Hindu party in India has warned it would prevent Australia's cricketers playing in parts of India because of attacks on Indians in Australia.
Bal Thackeray, who heads the radical Shiv Sena party, said the Australians will be barred from playing in Maharashtra, of which Mumbai is the state capital.
"We will not allow kangaroo cricketers to play in Mumbai and Maharashtra till the attacks on Indians are stopped," the ageing Thackeray wrote in the Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamna.
"Our boys are being stabbed, burnt and shot at in that country and still our cricketers have no qualms in playing with them. Do they have any national pride?"
The murder of Nitin Garg, 21, in Melbourne earlier this month caused anger among Indians in Australia and overseas, and prompted India's foreign minister S M Krishna to suggest it would hurt ties.
The murder followed a spate of violence against Indian students in Melbourne over the past 18 months that has included beatings, robberies and stabbings and has threatened Australia's education industry.
Australian cricketers like captain Ricky Ponting, Andrew Symonds, Matthew Hayden and Shane Watson are star attractions in the third edition of the lucrative Indian Premier League in March-April.
Two major cities in Maharashtra, Mumbai and Nagpur, are due to host IPL matches.
The Shiv Sena has in the past prevented Pakistan's national team from playing in the state for what it says is Islamabad's backing of militant activities in India.
Mr Thackeray praised movie legend Amitabh Bachchan for refusing an award from Queensland University in protest at the attack on students in Australia.
"I would have been happy if our cricketers too had shown similar self-respect in the matter," he wrote.
"But cricket has become a game of money, and self-respect and patriotism have taken a back-seat."
Cricket australia's head of public affairs peter Young said that all Australian players would need the usual security clearance before travelling to India.
"We take specialist advice whether it is India, South Africa, England or anywhere in the world and that remains unchanged," Mr Young said.
Former Test opener Geoff Marsh said recent attacks on Indians in Australia was a tragedy and the terrorist threats were a concern.
Marsh's son Shaun is expected to play for Kings XI Punjab. His y9unger son Mitch is also considered an IPL prospect.
Australian Cricketers' Association chief executive Paul Marsh said he was not concerned for the welfare of Australian players in the IPL.
"It's not the first time that there has been a threat of that type of nature against players," he said.
"What we always do is work with Cricket Australia and the relevant government authorities and our own independent advisers to determine if a thereat is legitimate, and that's something we will do on this occasion.
"The Australian team is not due in India until later in the year, but the IPL will be going on shortly in March and April, so it's something we will be looking into urgently."
Cricket Australia spokesman Peter Young said the cricket world has been appalled by the violence in Australia.
"Ricky Ponting has been very public in his position on this and as recently as last week Nathan Hauritz was very public in his views about Indians in Victoria being treated with the same respect as we are used to being treated with when we visit India," he said.
"We have a standard process we use regarding Australia cricket travel anywhere in the world ... and that is we take advice from the appropriate authorities and our internal experts before we go anywhere.
"We have a longstanding record for putting safety first."
"We're not aware of this particular claim. We are not due in India until October and we will work with the experts to ensure it is safe before we go."
