ICC, players fail to break deadlock

Ashish Shukla in London

A marathon five-hour long meeting between five top Indian cricketers and the International Cricket Council on Wednesday night failed to break the deadlock over the contract issue with the two sides sticking to their positions.

The representative of the Indian players, Ravi Shastri, accompanied the five, who were not identified.

The contract for the Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka requires the players to forego their individual endorsements in favour of the official sponsors in case of a clash of interest.

Speed later informed the media that the ICC now had a better understanding of the players' concerns. "The ICC doesn't want the players to be distracted before an important Test match tomorrow. The ICC would consult a few people overnight and hopefully would inform about the developments tomorrow," Speed said.

The discussions between ICC and the players follow a request from the Board of Control for Cricket in India to the world governing body asking it to deal directly with the players.

Complete Coverage: The ICC Contract Row

Mail Cricket Editor