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| Sunday, 8 September 2002 |
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ICC seals Champions Trophy deal with Indians LONDON, Sept 7 (Reuters) - The International Cricket Council (ICC) announced on Friday it had resolved a sponsorship dispute with the Indian team which had been threatening their participation in this month's Champions Trophy. Malcolm Gray, president of the sport's world governing body, said that the meeting with the Indian players on Wednesday had led to a compromise. "The situation today is that following discussions between the ICC and the Indian players there is now an agreement that is acceptable to both," he said. There are, however, a few loose ends to tie up, with one ICC tournament sponsor still to rubber-stamp the agreement while the Indian board has yet to officially select their top players for the one-day tournament in Sri Lanka. India's players, including Sachin Tendulkar and skipper Saurav Ganguly, had refused to sign their playing contracts for the September 12-29 event, disputing a clause preventing them from endorsing products of rival companies to official sponsors 30 days either side of ICC events. Fearing they could endanger their existing lucrative personal sponsorships, they also opposed official tournament sponsors being allowed to use images of them for up to six months. Gray said: "There have been compromises on both sides." ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed said the tournament sponsors did not intend to use players' images for six months, adding: "The 30 day exclusion period after the tournament has been reduced to 16 days. "It is longer than the players wanted but shorter than the ICC and its sponsors were seeking. It is a pragmatic solution to a difficult issue." He added it was now up to the Indian board, which has named a provisional 25-man rather than 14-man squad for the event following the row, to select its top players. Earlier on Friday, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Niranjan Shah said he expected the country's players to go to Colombo for the Champions Trophy. The prestigious 12-nation event is the biggest one-day tournament outside the World Cup. There had been fears of a mass player boycott at one stage over the issue, before players from such countries as Australia, England and South Africa agreed to play after being assured they would be consulted over future ICC sponsorship agreements which could affect their interests. |
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