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| August 20, 2002 | Tuesday | Jamadi-us-Saani 10, 1423 |
Stand-off heightens between ICC, players
NEW DELHI, Aug 19: India players have given in writing that they will not sign a disputed ICC contract which will result in their omission from next month’s ICC Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka, a cricket official said Monday.
“Everybody has refused to sign,” Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Niranjan Shah told Reuters from the western Rajkot city.
The BCCI sent certain documents to the players asking them to make their stand clear in writing.
Shah said the board’s working committee, a decision-making body, and the selection committee, will meet in Bangalore on Tuesday where an under-strength squad could be picked for the Sept 12-29 tournament in Colombo.
India players, like several of their counterparts including those in Australia, South Africa and West Indies, have objected to an “ambush marketing” clause in the International Cricket Council (ICC) contract which bars individual endorsements that conflict with official sponsors.
The clause, agreed to by national boards two years ago, bars such endorsements for 30 days either side of ICC tournaments like the Champions Trophy and the World Cup to be held in South Africa early next year.
The omission of the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, regarded as the world’s leading batsman, skipper Saurav Ganguly and emerging batsman Virender Sehwag could become a huge controversy in cricket-mad India besides affecting the 12-nation event.
Shah said ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed was arriving in India early Tuesday in an effort to end the row, which has dominated the game for the last two weeks.
“He will be in India tomorrow. He will be talking to some of the sponsors on this issue,” Shah said.
MUMBAI: Former Indian all-rounder turned commentator Ravi Shastri has hit out strongly at the International Cricket Council (ICC) for their role in the on-going endorsement contract row.
Interviewed by Mumbai’s Mid-Day newspaper the former opener contended, “The ICC has taken the players for a ride again and again and our players should realise that”.
Shastri went on to call on the Indian players to stand together on the issue and not to get cajoled into signing anything quickly in an attempt to find a solution prior to the ICC Champions Trophy.
“They shouldn’t sign it even for this tournament because of the simple reason that the ICC might take the players for a ride (in future)”, Shastri said, adding, “Indian players need to stay together because such opportunities do not come every day”.
A veteran of 80 Tests and 150 ODIs Shastri was quick to caution the touring Indian’s not to lose focus of their immediate task - beating England in the third Test - amid the contractual brouhaha.
SYDNEY: Planning for next year’s World Cup and next month’s ICC Champions Trophy has been further undermined by the heightened stand-off between the International Cricket Council (ICC) and players over sponsorship.
Australian Cricketers Association chief executive Tim May has accused the game’s government body of being “bully boys” after the ICC sent out guidelines restricting player images for up to six months after one of their events.
The ICC wants players to relinquish conflicting endorsements before, during and after tournaments to prevent “ambush marketing”.
Key players such as master batsman Sachin Tendulkar and Test captain Saurav Ganguly would lose substantial sums of money by agreeing to the ICC’s terms.
May, who is also the joint chief executive of the Federation of International Cricketers Association (FICA), called on the ICC to meet with FICA and players associations to resolve the matter.
“The only way this thing can be resolved is if parties get together and try to resolve it with the ICC and FICA and its representatives,” May said on Monday.—AFP/Reuters/PPI
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