In a worrying development just weeks before the World Cup, ICC stated that they were far from reaching an agreement with the Indian board on the contracts dispute, even as they handed India a final offer on the issue. Malcolm Gray, president of ICC, admitted that discussions with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had been "exhaustive and to date fruitless", and that ICC could make no further concessions.

According to the latest offer, the players will not be allowed to advertise products which conflict with those of the official tournament sponsors for only five days after the tournament - down from the earlier 30 days. The only exception was in the case of the finalists, who would face a restriction of 20 days or until the first one-day international or Test match, which ever came sooner.

According to ICC, this proposal was put forward to Anil Kumble, the players' representative, at a meeting in Kolkata last week, but the cricketers wanted to restrict this clause only to the days on which they were involved in televised matches.

Further, the two parties also disagreed with the duration for which ICC could use the image rights of the Indian players. ICC offered a three-month period - down from the original six - while the Indian players wanted it further cut down to two months.

In a statement issued from Lord's, ICC said it had made a special effort to take account of the "conflicting personal sponsorships" surrounding Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag. "Part of the response to this offer was for the Indian players to move away from their previous undertakings to block their competing sponsors for the period of the event to only blocking their competing sponsors for the days on which India plays in televised matches. This was unacceptable to ICC."

Malcolm Speed, chief executive of ICC, added: "Having offered this additional and significant concession to India, it was disappointing to find ourselves further apart than before."

Gray warned that a failure by India to send its best team to the World Cup could see it facing compensation claims. "It is clear that if the BCCI does not meet its obligations and there are damages claims made as a result, the BCCI faces the potential of these claims being made against it for not delivering on its contract." All the boards need to submit the signed player terms for their 15-member World Cup squads by January 14.

To make matters worse for the Indian board, ICC also rejected the BCCI's request for a seven-day extension to the December 31 deadline for naming its squad, saying that the "deadlines in place on the BCCI are exactly the same as for all other boards".

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