BCCI softens stand on players' contract

They need not sign contracts before leaving for B'desh, it says. Kadambari Murali and A Karhadkar report.

The BCCI has softened its stand. Indian cricketers need not sign their player contracts before leaving for Bangladesh on Monday. As first reported by HT on Thursday, the players are unhappy with the terms of the contract, and have decided not to sign them unless they are modified.

HT Image

“Since there’s not enough time before the team’s departure, the players can sign the contracts after they return, if they have reservations about them,” said BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah. “As of now, I don’t know whether they have any.”

The players do. The 20 at the Kolkata camp have decided not to sign. “There are just too many things in the contract that affect too many of us,” said a senior player.

A BCCI official said the board was open to the players’ suggestions. An office-bearers’ meeting is scheduled at BCCI chief Sharad Pawar’s Delhi residence on Saturday. No decision is, however, likely to be taken on the revisions suggested by the players; everyone on the contracts’ committee — IS Bindra, Shashank Manohar and N Srinivasan — is on holiday.