MUMBAI, Nov 5: India has agreed to sign the International Cricket Council's contract for participation in global events, paving the way for the sale of the billion-dollar commercial rights for cricket tournaments including two World Cups.

“India agreed to sign the member participation contract spanning eight years from 2007 to 2015 after our concerns were addressed by the ICC,” Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Niranjan Shah said on Sunday.

Shah said the ICC accepted India's views on protecting the commercial rights of member nations and players, who had sponsorship deals of their own, during the ICC's two-day executive board meeting that concluded late on Saturday.

Shah said India was the only country that had refused to accept the commercial terms of the contracts drafted by the ICC because the clauses would have dealt a severe blow to its finances.

India's resistance threatened to disrupt the ICC's marketing plan for the next eight years, which it expected to fetch nearly US$1 billion.

The current commercial agreement between the ICC and its member nations expires after the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies.

Beside World Cups in 2011 and 2015, the new contract will also cover three Champions Trophy tournaments and the first two editions of the Twenty20 world championship.

India are among the four South Asian nations who this year won the bid to stage the 2011 World Cup, while the 2015 edition is to be played in Australia and New Zealand.

The ICC last month warned India that their resistance to signing the contract could jeopardize their right to host the 2011 World Cup, leading to a war of words between Indian and ICC officials.—AP