BCCI asks players to agree to ICC's terms

The Board of Control for Cricket in India resumed negotiations with the players on Sunday in a fresh attempt to break the impasse arising out of their refusal to sign the International Cricket Council's controversial new contract.

The BCCI has asked the players to abide by the ICC's terms and conditions for the duration of the Champions Trophy and 30 days thereafter.

BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya, who bought some more time from the ICC to find a solution, wrote to Indian captain Sourav Ganguly on Sunday, detailing the deliberations at the ICC's executive board meeting in Dubai on Saturday.

The executive board had rejected the offer of the Indian players to play in the tournament without signing the agreement while asking their individual sponsors to put their advertisements on hold for the duration of Champions Trophy.

'You have already agreed in principle to abide by the commercial terms and conditions for the duration of the event [18 days]. You should agree to abide by the said terms for the period up to 30 days after the event,' Dalmiya wrote.

'As the BCCI president, I have a word of advice. Since your viewpoints with regard to the sponsorship contracts have been well received by the ICC, it would be befitting to respond positively only for the Champions Trophy.'

The players have received Dalmiya's letter in London and will be deciding their future course of action at a meeting.

Team manager Ranga Reddy said the letter had been delivered to all the players. "Initially, everyone could not be contacted, but now the letter has been delivered to most, including captain Sourav Ganguly, who joined the team this afternoon," he said.

In his letter, Dalmiya said that if the players agreed to abide by the terms for 30 days after the event, it would pave the way for congenial discussions and might also lead to a permanent solution to the vexed issue.

Referring to the Dubai meeting, he said, 'There was a unanimous decision to hold the tournament as per schedule and that all countries should participate in the event, [in] any circumstances.

'It is therefore, necessary for you to consider that should you wish to participate in the tournament, you would have to abide by the terms, not just for the duration of the event (as was suggested by you), but also 30 days thereafter.'

Dalmiya said he would appreciate a prompt response from the players, 'since the time is rather short'.

Meanwhile, BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah told the Press Trust of India from Mumbai that he was optimistic of an amicable solution to the crisis. "The ICC has given us two-three days to sort the issue out," he said. "We are trying and are very optimistic."

PTI

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