Police commissioner rejects reports of a new threat to Tendulkar

NAGPUR: Police will maintain tight security for the fourth cricket Test against Australia following TV news reports of a terrorist threat targeting S
achin Tendulkar.

Nagpur police commissioner Pravin Dixit rejected reports of a new threat to the star Indian batsman, but said authorities worked on the presumption that anything was possible after a threat from militant organizations was received by federal agencies a few years ago.

"There will be tight security as usual, but there's no new threat," Dixit said.

"The center (federal government) had issued an advisory a few years ago, but at present there is no threat.

"Security is always tight." Indian TV reports said federal intelligence agencies had sent a high alert after intercepting communications mentioning "Sachin."

Nagpur police had earlier said that extra security cover will be provided to the master blaster Sachin Tendulkar due to possible threat from Jaish-e-Mohammed. India will be playing the final Test on November 6 in Nagpur.

Sachin had already stated that he was relatively safe in India, which now stands questioned after the news of a possible threat.

He had said, "I don't think, it bothers us. It is our home-land, in our homeland, no one can harm us. We've got full confidence that nothing bad and untoward will happen during the series. This is our home-land, so we should feel free to move wherever and whenever we want to."

Sachin Tendulkar has already walked into the record books by overtaking another famous name - West Indian Brian Lara - as Test cricket's highest run-getter at Mohali in the second Test won handsomely by the hosts to go 1-0 up in the Border-Gavaskar series.

The champion batsman is also set to complete 100 catches, having pouched 99 so far in 153 Tests, and has 90 scores of fifty and above, inclusive of 39 centuries, and is on par with Australian great Allan Border.

Sachin has received terror threats earlier as well. In 2007, there were intelligence reports of terrorists planning to attack an India-West Indies One-Day International venue at Barabati Stadium in Cuttack where the teams played the second match on January 24.