Indian Premier League commissioner Lalit Modi sought to assuage fears of a players' boycott of the third edition of the Twenty20 tournament, to be held in India from March 12, by saying that he has spoken to all foreign parties concerned and reassured them on their security-related concerns.
"I spoke to a couple of the [Australian] boys yesterday about it. I think they will all take part," Modi told Australian Associated Press (AAP) on Tuesday.
"The tournament will go on. They are very comfortable with it. Not all players have said they don't want to come; some have had concerns and we have taken care of their concerns. There is nothing to be concerned about," he added.
Modi also pointed to the Kookaburras' presence in India for the World Cup hockey tournament as a proof that the country is safe for sports stars.
His response came after reports that some of Australia's cricketers are threatening to boycott the IPL if their security demands for the Twenty20 tournament are not met.
Players groups from around the world are hastily putting together a list of concerns for the Federation for International Cricketers' Association (FICA) to be given to the IPL organisers.
The security situation worsened in India this month with a direct threat from an Al-Qaeda affiliated terrorist group to the IPL, Hockey World Cup and Commonwealth Games.
Australian Cricketers' Association (ACA) boss Paul Marsh said his players' participation in the tournament is no certainty following a crisis meeting with the players and managers in Sydney on Tuesday.
"I think it is very difficult to say at the moment," he said.
"There are some issues that have been raised; if the IPL can satisfy those issues then potentially the players will be in a position to go," he added.
Marsh said the players wouldn't be blindly lured by the riches of the IPL, which begins on March 12.
"All the money in the world is not going to help you if you are not around to spend it," he said.
Marsh said widely-respected consultant Reg Dickason's security report had exposed serious shortcomings in the IPL's plans but he refused to go into detail about the problem areas.
IPL bosses have refused in the past to acknowledge FICA but Marsh is confident that the backroom dealings could assist in them coming to an agreement.
