 According
to reports, half of the Indian team had trained in Ferozshah Kotla in Delhi
on Monday without any security cover that they had been so vehemently talking
about during their recent stand-off with WADA. The players who trained at the
Kotla were eight cricketers including the Indian skipper M.S.Dhoni along with
the others like R.P.Singh, Suresh Raina and Ashish Nehra.
There were no police personnel, no security with guns or dummy vehicles and
nothing that could say that the Indian team was practicing in the ground. This
is said to be surprising on two counts. For one, Delhi is one of the central
points where an extremist attack could take place given that it is the capital
and the close proximity to the Independence Day. The other issue is the aforementioned
one of how the cricketers had objected to the 'whereabouts' clause which according
to many of the cricketers would cause security concerns. According to the 'whereabouts'
clause, the players needed to declare their availability for one hour everyday
for the next three months, and the cricketers had objected to this, as it infringed
on their privacy and security.
There was no security whatsoever, at least not what one is so used to being
associated with the Indian cricket team, and the media and the locals had a
free entry into the ground without any check.
The top police officials in Delhi said that they hadn't been informed that
the Indian team would be practicing at the Kotla, whereas the Delhi and District
Cricket Association said that the goof-up was the responsibility of the BCCI.
DDCA also said that the BCCI needed to be more serious about asking for security
if they wanted to, and that they had no idea that a couple of terrorists had
been apprehended in the neighbourhood in Delhi. They said, "If the BCCI
is serious about security, they should tell us in advance what it wants."
With the players like Yuvraj Singh, M.S.Dhoni, Virender Sehwag
and Sachin Tendulkar, having already made their point clear on the non-signing
of the agreement with WADA, Zaheer Khan joined in the fray and said that
there had been many other athletes that had had a problem with the whereabouts
clause. However, according to him, it was only the BCCI that had stood up to
the WADA and challenged them.
For now, there is an IRTP committee formed which will decide the future course
of action in this stand-off.
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