NEW DELHI, 2: India failed to name a preliminary World Cup squad by Monday’s deadline as the dispute over players’ contracts showed no signs of being resolved.

All the 14 nations taking part in the World Cup in southern Africa in February-March next year were supposed to send in their provisional 30-man squad to the International Cricket Council (ICC).

India are the only nation to have missed the deadline as Sourav Ganguly’s national side flew into New Zealand for two Tests and seven one-day internationals.

“We will be naming our squad in a few days,” said Amrit Mathur, media manager of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), but parried questions on why the deadline was not met.

BCCI secretary Karunakaran Nair said last week India were not obliged to name their provisional squad “so early” and insisted the ICC had not set any date.

World Cup rules stipulate that any changes to the team after Dec 31 will have to be ratified by a special committee of the ICC.

Australia, England, Sri Lanka, South Africa and Pakistan have already named their provisional squad even though they will be involved in international matches till January.

The World Cup starts on Feb 8 with an opening ceremony at Cape Town, followed by first match between South Africa and the West Indies the next day.

Meanwhile, the row over players contracts for the World Cup escalated with the cricketers and tournament’s official sponsors refusing to concede an inch.

The row erupted before ICC Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka in September when India’s star players refused to sign contracts which prevented them from endorsing non-official sponsors for 30 days before and after the tournament.

The ICC watered down the contracts to ensure Indians took part in Champions Trophy, with a promise to review controversial clauses before the World Cup.

Official World Cup sponsors like Hero Honda, LG Electronics and Pepsi, who are part of seven-year deal with the ICC worth $US550 million ($981.27 million), have declined to give any more concessions to the players.

Indian cricket chief Jagohan Dalmiya discussed the contracts with senior players like captain Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar at Calcutta airport Sunday before they boarded the flight to New Zealand.

The players refused to sign present contracts and Dalmiya emerged from the meeting saying “a solution was still a long way off.”—PPI