ICC contracts challenged in Delhi high court

The contracts offered by the International Cricket Council (ICC) to the Indian cricketers ahead of the World Cup have been challenged in the Delhi high court, with former Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president NKP Salve and former cricketers such as Kapil Dev and Madan Lal filing a public interest litigation.

The PIL seeks a direction to the government to not release tax benefits to the World Cup sponsors, as also an amicable settlement to the issue on the part of the ICC.

The argument put forward is that even though 80 percent of ICC funds are generated in India, the governing body has imposed "stringent and unreasonable conditions" on the Indian players, according to the Press Trust of India (PTI).

Notices have been issued to the ICC, the BCCI and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), as well as the six sponsoring companies on the petition, by a division bench of the court that comprises acting Chief Justice Devinder Gupta and Justice BD Ahmed.

The RBI is involved largely because money accrues to the ICC through its offices. The respondents - who include companies such as Pepsi, Hero Honda, LG, Nimbus Communications, TVS Motors, Coca Cola, Sahara India Financial Corporation and Samsung - have been instructed to file replies by January 21.