ECB monitoring IPL security measures
The ECB could pull Kevin Pietersen out of the IPL if security is not good enough
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Wednesday, 04, Mar 2009 11:03
Managing director Hugh Morris says the ECB are monitoring the security situation for the Indian Premier League (IPL) and could pull out their players.
Morris says the terrorist attack on Sri Lanka's players yesterday as they were preparing to play a Test against Pakistan in Lahore has caused the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to review the security situation for the forthcoming one-day tournament.
England have four players heading to India for the competition, Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Flintoff, Paul Collingwood and Owais Shah.
Morris insists that the security of those players, who are centrally contracted to the ECB, is their paramount concern and that they could be pulled out of the IPL if the ECB is not satisfied with the security measures.
He said: "I've had conversations over the last 24 hours with Sean Morris [chief executive of the Professional Cricketers' Association] and clearly the players' association and ourselves are looking very carefully into that security situation around the world.
"As far as centrally-contracted players are concerned we will need to make sure security provisions are in place."
Although Pietersen and Flintoff are each set to make £545,000 by playing for three weeks in the IPL the ECB says it still has the rights to withdraw their players from the contracts they have signed with their IPL teams.
Morris added: "Effectively, the players under contract are under contract to the ECB. Safety and security of the players is the number one priority of our board. Simple as that."
"Nobody can ever guarantee 100 per cent safety to anybody anywhere in the world, that's for sure.
"Each situation will be taken on its merit but we are obviously monitoring situations on a daily basis."
The ECB had similar security concerns about continuing their tour of India at the end of last year following terrorist attacks in Mumbai, but were persuaded back for two Test matches in December.