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Ponting had 'bruising' argument with Warne, Gilly over security before IPL 3

August 21, 2010 16:11 IST

Retired cricketers, including Adam Gilchrist and Shane Warne, had a "bruising" argument with Ricky Ponting over touring India for the IPL III in the wake of security concerns, the current Australian captain said.

Ponting said in his diary The Captain's Year that he wanted the Australians to follow the recommendations of security advisor Reg Dickason but Gilchrist and Warne were opposed to the move.

"Our meeting became a somewhat bruising one, as I learned that the environment in which we have grown up as Australian cricketers has changed somewhat with the emergence of the IPL," Ponting wrote.

"Formerly, it was always 'one in, all in' but now not all of us play for the same team, and that created a situation where I, representing those still playing international cricket, argued that we should all respect the warnings," he said.

While Ponting played for the Kolkata Knight Riders for just the inaugural edition of the IPL, Warne and Gilchrist led Rajasthan Royals and Deccan Chargers in March-April this year.

By the time of argument, Ponting had been paid out of his contract with the Sourav Ganguly-led side but he still wanted to be cautious.

"I left the meeting annoyed that we wouldn't be confronting this security situation with as close to a single voice as possible, and hoping that next time we face a major issue we can confront it as one, like we did in days gone by, rather than be split by competing interests," Ponting wrote.
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