'No conflict between players and board' - Dravid

Rahul Dravid, captain of the Indian team, has said that it was not correct to "project this whole issue [endorsements] as a conflict of commercial interests of the players and the BCCI," in a release sent out to the media on Sunday afternoon. "Let me clarify that there is no conflict between the players and the BCCI. The interests of the players and the BCCI are inclusive and not exclusive," he added.

Dravid then sought to make it clear that there was no misunderstanding between the BCCI and the players. "The BCCI has always been very caring and considerate about the players' interests and I am sure that the BCCI would discuss the issue with the players at a suitable time," he said. "When this opportunity arises then we shall jointly examine the areas of concern, iron out the irksome issues and work out a package that can take care of the collective interests and concerns of the BCCI and the players."

Dravid added that he had spoken to Ravi Shastri, the newly-appointed cricket manager of the Indian team, and a number of players about the issue. "They all feel that, with a healthy dialogue with the board, which there always has been, all issues can be sorted out."

India's cricketers are clearly shaken by the developments of the past two days, with the cricket board striking very close to home, their endorsements, but Dravid called for restraint from the media and the public. "We have had a disappointing World Cup and it is important that we all work together as the various stakeholders in the game to help improve and take our cricket forward."

The players, who have received no official communication from the board yet on the matter of endorsements, contracts and several other changes announced at the working committee meeting in Mumbai on Saturday, have certainly followed proceedings closely through the media. However, given the recent show-cause notices issued to Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh, none of the players is taking a chance and talking about the issues on the record.

There have been rumours that the players are considering their legal options but this is farfetched given their current relationship with the board. Moreover, Dravid's statement lends weight to the belief that the players are in no frame of mind for a confrontation with an organisation that is represented by legal heavyweights like Shashank Manohar and Arun Jaitley and headed by a seasoned politician in Sharad Pawar, who clearly means business. And even if they do win, there is little stopping the board from going ahead and not picking them anyway.

The second option before the players is the more radical one of going on strike, refusing both to sign the contracts in the current form and to play till the issue is sorted out. While this has happened in sporting teams and even leagues in other parts of the world, with lock-outs having ruined complete seasons of baseball or basketball in America, it's hard to see the same working here. If this lot of players takes on the board by striking work, there will be others happy to fill the breach.

"We are ready for all eventualities," said a board official. "In the past we have adopted a very defensive mindset and it has not helped. After all, we are entrusted with running cricket in the country."

What sections of the board are stressing on is the fact that it is their duty not merely to look out for the commercial interests of the Indian national team but also of domestic cricketers and Under-19 cricketers. Earlier, 26% of the board's gross revenue was spent on player payments, with 13% going to the national team. Now, however, the board takes only 30% of the media rights money into account when calculating the gross revenue. In either case, the money that is spent on the payments of domestic cricketers comes from the deals that the board makes for the national team.

There are also several misconceptions about whom these new regulations will affect. The board has made it amply clear that all pre-existing contracts will be honoured, and no retrospective action taken. This means that the seniormost players - people like Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly - many of whose existing contracts are likely to out-last their careers, are unlikely to be adversely affected. It is people like Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Dinesh Karthik, whose careers are just taking off, who could be seriously affected.