No IPL vs FICA issue: Tony Irish

Tue, Mar 09 2010 (CricBuzz) - South African Cricketers Association (SACA) chief executive Tony Irish insisted his organisation and other national player bodies have no agenda against the Indian Premier League and will back it 100%, provided all the proper security measures were in place.

The start to the IPL this year has been rocky, with terrorist threats looming over the competition and players reluctant to travel unless given security assurances.

However, most of the concerns seem to have been resolved, and a number of players from all over the world are preparing to travel to India for the start of the tournament that gets underway in Mumbai on Friday, 12th March.

The initial security concerns came after a report written by the England team's security adviser Reg Dickason - appointed by the Federation of International Cricketers' Associations (FICA) to look into the safety issue - said there was a credible terrorist threat to the IPL.

The news of a possible no-show from some players had prompted an angry reaction from IPL boss Lalit Modi, who said that the league didn't need those players who didn't want to come

However, SACA boss Irish told www.supersport.co.za: "The IPL has tended to make our concerns regarding security into an IPL versus FICA issue, but it's not that at all.

"This is not about either side winning or losing, it's about safety and security of players and teams.

"And we've simply followed the same thorough process as we normally do. We want the same thing as the IPL does, namely a successful and safe event. We hope this will be the case.

"Our objectives were to obtain details of the security plan and as much information as possible and then get an independent specialist to review these plans.

"Our job is to provide the players with the relevant information to assist them to make as informed a decision as possible."

More than half of South Africa's 22 centrally-contracted players have IPL deals, including captain Graeme Smith, who plays for the Rajasthan Royals, and vice-captain Jacques Kallis of the Royal Challengers Bangalore.