Indian cricketers sign World Cup contracts

The face-off between the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the International Cricket Council (ICC) was somewhat alleviated today with all 15 members of the World Cup squad signing the Player Terms contract for the tournament well ahead of the January 14 deadline.

But the players have still expressed disagreement with a few controversial clauses, dealing with image rights, that prohibit any rival advertising for one month before and after the tournament.

The cricketers are willing to persuade their sponsors not to air conflicting advertisements during the World Cup, and signed the contract only to that effect after making their position on the contentious issues clear.

"We are in contact with the BCCI. We have told the ICC what our problems are. We have given our terms and conditions. There are certain areas that need to be looked into," Sourav Ganguly told the Press Trust of India (PTI).

"We all feel that, at the end of the day, it's got to be an adjustment from both the sides. It can never be one-sided, whether it is the players or the ICC," said Ganguly. "We have made our statement clear... this is what we can do and this is what we can't. The rest is up to them."