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Pietersen declares himself doubtful for the IPL

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Agencies

Posted: Mar 08, 2009 at 1723 hrs IST
Pietersen

London Shaken by the recent terror attack on Sri Lanka cricket team in Lahore, former England captain Kevin Pietersen has hinted that he was considering snapping ties with the lucrative Indian Premier League starting in April.

Pietersen, who was bought by Vijay Mallya's Bangalore Royal Challengers team for a whopping USD 1.55 million, is so worried at becoming a high-profile target that he is reviewing his own security now.

"I will be consulting as many people as I can but if I don't think it is right, then I will not be going. After this final Test against the West Indies, I will be speaking to Bangalore, to the ECB, to my agent and to security advisors.

"Then I will be a lot clearer in my thoughts than I am now. Since the terror attacks in Mumbai we are all now more mindful of our own security arrangements," the all-rounder told 'News of the World'.

Six Lanka cricketers including skipper Mahela Jayawardene and spinner Ajantha Mendis were injured as 12 masked gunmen opened fire on their team-bus, which was on its way to Gaddafi Stadium for the third day's play of second Test on Tuesday.

Pietersen hoped that everything would go right during the Twenty20 tournament in India, but reminded there were lot of aspects to be taken care of before he heads for the country.

"Hopefully, the security will come right for India, but if everybody pulls out of the IPL then it would be a disaster, a catastrophe and world cricket would really be on a down.

India is the force behind most of world cricket but there are things we have to go through before we go," he said.

The 28-year-old cricketer also feels no country would like to visit the strife-torn neighbour of India after the first of its kind terror attack on international cricketers.

"There has never been an incident like that. Everyone said cricketers were safe but now they are not safe in the subcontinent, so it is very worrying. I am shocked, it is a tragedy and a catastrophe, not just in sport but in the world. I don't think anyone would want to travel to Pakistan at the moment.

"I feel sorry for everybody in Pakistan but everybody thought sportsmen were safe, they thought cricketers were safe but obviously they are not," he said.

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Fine Him by Jamali on 09 Mar 2009

Guys like Pietersen, Ponting lack professionalism. They should be fined severely if they pull off as per their whims and fancies

IPL contract a FARCE?? by Rajan on 09 Mar 2009

I think it is time IPL starts to demand commitment from players contracted for IPL. Just the other day Ponting said he would not be playing for the current season for IPL. Now Pietersenl. We also heard Flintoff pontificate about importance of playing for his country as compared to IPL. WHy then do the IPL clubs hire these guys when they have no commitment to the club where they are contracted for a substantial price? If a player pull out from IPL for any reason other than for playing for a game representing his country then he should be subject to penalty for pulling out and putting the club into a loss. This is a common clause in all club contracts in Europe. Why then does IPL allow players like Ponting, Pietersen, Flintoff to play in IPL when they have no commitment to the game and the clubs they are contracted to?

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