Threat to Aussie cricketers: Pawar meets Thackeray

Rattled by the Shiv Senas threat to prevent Australian cricketers from playing on Indian soil,Union Agricultural Minister...

Rattled by the Shiv Senas threat to prevent Australian cricketers from playing on Indian soil,Union Agricultural Minister and ICC president-elect Sharad Pawar met Sena chief Bal Thackeray on Sunday.

The meeting was held at Thackerays residence where Senas executive president Uddhav Thackeray,partys Rajya Sabha MP and spokesperson Sanjay Raut,who is also the executive editor of Saamna,and BCCI chief Shashank Manohar were present.

Thackeray had earlier threatened to announce a ban on Australian cricketers to protest against attacks on Indians in Australia. The announcement was likely to impact the forthcoming Indian Premier League season which is due to begin soon. In an indication that the Sena is likely to soften its stance,Thackeray asked BCCI officials to put forth their view on the issue in writing.

After the meeting,Pawar refused to speak to the media. Manohar told reporters later that they had requested Thackeray to allow IPL teams which had two to three Australian players each to play in Maharashtra and that Thackeray had asked them to give their views in writing,which would be done within a couple of days.