Mumbai: A day after Union Minister Sharad
Pawar met Bal Thackeray requesting him to withdraw its threat
against Australian cricketers' participation in IPL, Shiv Sena said it would take a final call on the issue in
two-three days.
"Thackeray would take a final call on the issue of
Australian players in two-three days," Sena mouthpiece
'Saamana' said today.
Pawar had met Thackeray at the Sena chief's
'Matoshree' residence in Bandra last night. The Board of
Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Shashank Manohar
and Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray were also
present at the two-hour meeting.
"For me, the country is more important than the game,"
Saamana quoted Thackeray as telling Pawar. "I will never
tolerate India's insult," the Sena supremo said.
"We told Balasaheb that the Australian team will not
participate in the IPL, but each IPL team will have one or two
Australians," Manohar had said last night after the meeting.
"He asked us to give a presentation on how many
Australian players will play in the IPL. We will make the
presentation in a day or two," Manohar had said.
"Thackeray and he (Uddhav) gave us a considerate hearing.
We tried to convince him that only one or two Australian
players will participate in the IPL matches and by not
allowing all IPL matches it?s the state players (Marathi
players) who will lose ultimately," he had told reporters.
PTI
First Published: Monday, February 08, 2010, 12:02