KOLKATA, Aug 27: The International Cricket Council’s (ICC) ambush marketing clause is not in the interests of India’s players, national cricket chief Jagmohan Dalmiya said Tuesday.

Leading players, including Sachin Tendulkar and skipper Saurav Ganguly, could miss next month’s Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka for refusing to sign a disputed ICC contract.

They are against a clause which bars them from endorsing products of rival companies to the official sponsors 30 days either side of events and an “images clause” allowing official sponsors to use images from ICC events for up to six months.

“This (ICC player endorsement clause) is not suitable for the Indian players.” Dalmiya told Reuters on Tuesday.

The row threatened a mass player boycott of the Sept 12-29 tournament in Colombo, but such fears have receded after other leading boards like Australia and England resolved the issue with their players.

Dalmiya said the Indian situation was different.

“It is difficult for others to appreciate how much Indian players would stand to lose by signing the agreement.”

The BCCI, faced with a Friday deadline from the ICC to name its 14, has short-listed 25 unnamed players.

Meanwhile, Dalmiya rubbished an agreement signed by the Australian team, adding a new twist to the ongoing row.

“The Australian agreement is the biggest bluff of world cricket,” said Dalmiya.

Australian players, who initially opposed the contracts, backed down and decided to take part in the tournament after reaching an agreement with the ACB.—Reuters/AFP