The former BCCI chief Sharad Pawar has requested Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray not to oppose Aussie participation in the IPL.

The International Cricket Council president-in-waiting Sharad Pawar along with current BCCI president Shashank Manohar met with Balasaheb Thackeray, the leader of the Shiv Sena party, late on Sunday night with a request to withdraw threats of disrupting IPL matches in Mumbai.

The Shiv Sena had threatened to attack Australian players contracted with several IPL teams in retaliation for attacks on Indians in Australia.

"We presented our viewpoint to Balasaheb and we also explained the format of the IPL to him," Manohar said.

"We tried to convince him that it is not the entire Australian team which is coming and that only some teams have players from Australia.

"He agreed to consider the issue in a couple of days," Manohar said.

Public affairs general manager Peter Young had said Cricket Australia were taking the threats seriously.

"At this stage we are not aware that there is any concern but we do like to be prudent and take a safety-first approach," he said.

India's federal home minister Palaniappan Chidambaram, who is in charge of inland security, had already issued guarantees on safety of overseas players.

"Let the Pakistanis and Australians play in India. I guarantee them security," he said.