BCCI begins discussions with Indian cricketers

The Board of Control for Cricket in India has begun discussions with a few senior cricketers regarding the players' terms for the Champions Trophy in England, beginning in September. The terms, primarily dealing with player endorsement and other commercial aspects, was a matter of major dispute between the ICC and the Indian players during the previous Champions Trophy and the World Cup.

Speaking to Wisden Cricinfo, SK Nair, the secretary of the BCCI, said that the discussions had begun and a final decision could be expected within a few days. "So far we have not come to a final decision. We are still deliberating on the issue with the players and I expect to send the player terms back to the ICC by the end of this week."

The working committee of the BCCI is having a two-day meeting on July 18 and 19 and Nair expects a decision to be taken then. "All this will be discussed by the working committee of the board when they meet on July 18 and 19 in Delhi. We will have a clearer idea after the meeting. The final stance of the board will be announced then.

"We have very clearly conveyed our position to the ICC in relation to the players needs," Nair continued. "The ICC will then make its policy and we may in turn come up with some suggestions. I think the ICC has more-or-less understood our position on the issue and have incorporated some revisions."

The issue had initially cropped up before the previous edition of the Champions Trophy, in 2002 in Sri Lanka. According to the terms then, the players were barred from endorsing products from companies that were rivals of the tournament sponsors. This was to hold good for 30 days either side of tournaments organised by the ICC. The dispute had reached such an impasse that one point there was a danger of India being represented by a second-string team with the leading players threatening to pull out.

However, a last-minute agreement was reached and India ended up as joint champions along with Sri Lanka. The problem resurfaced during the 2003 World Cup in South Africa but another compromise was reached to allow the participation of the Indian team. "We were satisfied with the agreement for the last World Cup and expect to come to a mutual agreement soon," Nair said.

The players' needs, said Nair, was of prime concern to the BCCI and added, "We will have a dialogue with the players regarding the final terms. As far as possible we will take the players' demands into consideration before proceeding to any decision."

Jagmohan Dalmiya, the president of the BCCI, is part of the six-man contract committee of the ICC headed by Ehsan Mani, the ICC president. Nair felt that Dalmiya's presence in the committee would help matters and termed it as a "slight advantage".