Bangladeshi players, who will take part in next month's ICC Champions Trophy, have signed the sponsorship contract with the International Cricket Council according to a Bangladesh Cricket Board official. "The players signed the contracts without any reservation immediately after the team was announced for the championship trophy last week," said the official.
Bangladesh announced a 14-man team, retaining wicketkeeper cum batsman Khaled Mashud as captain. The ICC has asked the individual cricketing boards for a swift conclusion to negotiations with players after a dispute over its "ambush marketing" clause. The clause prevents players from endorsing rival products to the ICC's official sponsors for a 30-day period either side of ICC events including next year's World Cup.
The ICC executive board is due to meet in Dubai on Saturday to confirm that the boards have met their obligations. Australia and England players have reached agreements with their boards, but India's top stars such as Sachin Tendulkar and Saurav Ganguly have still not agreed to the clause which they say could them lucrative sponsorship deals.
The Champions Trophy, played every two years to raise funds for the development of cricket globally, is the only limited-over tournament after the World Cup, which involves all the 10 test-playing nations and two from the associate group. The ICC signed a $550 million sponsorship, broadcasting and marketing deal with Global Cricket Corporation in 2000, to run until 2007.
Filed by James Shortt
