India seem ever more likely to send an under-strength squad to next month's Champions Trophy, after their contracts dispute with ICC took a turn for the worse. Although India's players had taken the initiative and approached the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) with a set of proposals to resolve the crisis, ICC is adamant that only those cricketers who sign the agreement in full can take part in the tournament. With the deadline looming on Friday, time is running out. "The issue is beyond our control," admitted Jagmohan Dalmiya, the BCCI president. "We will select the team only after discussions have been carried out with the ICC."

The players' representative, the former Test allrounder Ravi Shastri, had said that the players were willing to make the concession of asking their sponsors "not to air advertisements that were conflicting with the ICC's sponsors for the Champions Trophy". However, he added, "This concession would only be for the duration of the tournament and not a day more."

This was in reference to the clause that barred the players from doing cricket-related endorsements for companies competing with ICC's official sponsors from a month before to a month after the event. The players were strongly opposed to this clause, and their current proposal in fact stated that they will not actually sign the contract, but were willing to tell their sponsors to lay off during the event.

This compromise, however, cut no ice with ICC. "Since ICC is the author of the document, only it can change it," admitted Dalmiya. "I don't have any authority. We will do what ICC tells us.

"If your own players are not listening to you, what can you do? This is a strange situation. I will be like a postman in Dubai. I will only pass on the players' proposal to the ICC and the rest is up to them.

"I have simply failed to convince the players to give the BCCI the authority to deal with the ICC. We managed to persuade the ICC for a dialogue, but the delay has only handed the leash back to the ICC. It's unlikely they [ICC's officials] will make any exception for us."

Meanwhile Vikram Verma, India's newly appointed sports minister, called on the players and the board to resolve the crisis quickly. "My appeal to them is to find a solution," he said. "The players should not be forced to sign. Both sides have their own problems. They should solve it taking into mind each other's interests."

However, Verma stressed that the Indian government would not be interfering in the matter.

© Wisden CricInfo Ltd