T20 Cricket News

Australia's IPL players are set to meet the Australian Cricketers' Association (ACA) in Sydney on Tuesday as concerns grow over player security at the event. Players' unions have reportedly been told by security adviser Reg Dickason that the terrorist threat from the 313 Brigade, Al-Qaeda's operational arm in Pakistan, is credible and security cannot be guaranteed in India.

The ACA chief executive Paul Marsh will meet with the players to discuss whether or not they should head to the tournament, which begins on March 12. Shaun Tait is one of the players contracted to take part in the IPL and he said he was waiting for further information before deciding whether to go to India.

"The whole situation is a little bit disappointing because I would love to go to the IPL personally and hopefully everything can work out and we can go," Tait told AAP. "I am not sure whose decision it is yet and I think we will probably find out a bit more in this meeting tomorrow. Obviously we talk to Rajasthan over the next couple of days and we see what they have to say but apart from that, the rest is out of our control."

The Federation of International Cricketers' Associations (FICA) warned last week that a spate of player withdrawals was possible due to security concerns over playing in India. Andrew Symonds said last week he was planning to play in the IPL, while Shane Warne initially said he had concerns.

Simon Katich, who played in last year's IPL but is not in the Kings XI Punjab squad this year, said it would be a harder call for many players than when national tours are being assessed for security. "It's going to be a big decision because obviously there's going to be guys that might think it is fine to go and others that probably don't," Katich said.

"But tomorrow we'll find out for sure where everyone stands. It's hard to say (what they will decide) at this point, and it's hard to say what the other countries are going to decide as well. We always as players trust the security advice we're given. In the past we've not gone on tours like Pakistan, and if there's issues with India ... we'll find out tomorrow the full extent when the meeting is held in Sydney."

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