Commandos to protect Indian team

The commandos are the cream of the Indian army

The Indian government has ordered elite Indian commandos to fly to the Caribbean to provide security for the cricket team at the World Cup.

The government's decision follows a request from the West Indies, which is hosting the event later this month.

Sixteen members of the National Security Guards (NSG), who normally look after VIPs, will protect Rahul Dravid's side during the tournament.

It is the first time that commandos will be deployed to protect players.

'Terror groups'

"The decision, taken early this week by the government, comes after a security assessment that terror groups could target the Indian team, which was followed by a formal request from the West Indies," said the Indian Express.

The Indian side is used to heavy security

An Indian security assessment said "there were chances of terror groups targeting the tournament, particularly at venues where the Indian team is slated to play," the newspaper said.

"The matter was taken up with the Caribbean authorities, who felt such elaborate security cover may not be possible without assistance."

The newspaper said that government sources said they were told by West Indian officials that they did not have the expertise to deal with such terror threats.

It said they feared that the Indian team had been identified as a "prime target".

Mobbed

The commandos - including bomb detection and disposal experts - will be located in Jamaica, where India play warm-up matches, and in Trinidad, where the team's preliminary matches will be held, the paper added.

The commandos are anti-terrorism specialists

But it is not thought that the tight security arrangements will put off the Indian team.

The BBC's Sanjay Dasgupta says that the popularity of the game in India makes some well-known cricketers the most high-profile of celebrities - mobbed whereever they go and surrounded by a constant police presence.

India's junior foreign minister, Anand Sharma, refused to tell the BBC whether the decision to deploy the commandos had been prompted by any specific threat.

The Indian cricketers are already in the West Indies, along with their Australian coach Greg Chappell and other officials.

The commandos are expected to follow soon.