English cricketer Ravi Bopara has indefinitely postponed his trip to India for IPL due to security apprehensions, saying cricket meant everything to him but “it is not worth dying for”.
Mr. Bopara, who was snapped at $ 450,000 by the Kings XI Punjab, was supposed to leave on Sunday to join the Mohali-based outfit for this year’s Indian Premier League but the Essex cricketer backed out at the last moment, saying he was not sure if the risk was worth taking.
“Cricket is my living and in many way my life. But it is not worth dying for,” Mr. Bopara was quoted as saying by the Mail on Sunday.
Mr. Bopara was worried with Reg Dickason’s report in which the security expert raised some serious concerns.
“This is a very tricky call. I have been in touch with the franchise and they are pretty positive that things will be okay. But Reg Dickason’s report says something different.”
“At the moment I’m nowhere with this decision. I’ve had some contact with other players. No one has said they are definitely not going, but no one has said they definitely are either. I have pushed back my flight so I can give myself a bit more time to see what happens and whether the security measures are implemented,” he said.
“The franchise will want an answer in the next few days, but I will not come to a hasty decision just because I have to. I need to weigh everything up and if I could buy myself even more time I would,” added Mr. Bopara.
