The Royal Challengers Bangalore foreign players, including Kevin Pietersen, Dale Steyn and Jacques Kallis, were reluctant to get on to the field after the twin blasts just outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
The Royal Challengers Bangalore foreign players, including Kevin Pietersen, Dale Steyn and Jacques Kallis, were reluctant to get on to the field after the twin blasts just outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium went off minutes before their match against the Mumbai Indians.
The foreign players were a worried lot and had to be coaxed into playing the match on Saturday, said sources.
A terror attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in Pakistan and the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, which took place when the England team was touring India, were incidents that had left the foreign players concerned about their trip to India to play for the IPL.
A threat by the Pakistan-based guerrilla group linked to the al-Qaida that had warned that it might carry out attacks on sports events in India, principally the IPL, the men’s field hockey World Cup and the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi only a few months ago, has made cricketers from Austalia, New Zealand and England demand upping security during their stay for IPL.
Players like Kevin Pietersen, the highest bid player in the IPL, who were in India when terrorists killed 172 in Mumbai had even come on record stating he could pull out of the IPL worried at becoming a high-profile target.
Soon after the blasts around the stadium, there was a buzz that the foreign players, who were seen leaving the ground immediately after the loud sound, were not willing to play as they were worried if there will be serial blasts inside the stadium.
Colonel Ramachandran K, KSCA chief general manager and in-charge of security said: “We had to convince the IPL security personnel that there would be no issues inside the stadium. Both teams were worried, no doubt, but after we assured them of security arrangements inside the stadium, they agreed to play.”
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