BCCI says: We will send a team to Sri Lanka

‘‘The players have been given yet another chance to sign the agreement. The board has intimated the players about this decision. The selection committee will meet here tomorrow to decide on the 20 probables for the tournament,’’ secretary Niranjan Shah said after the meeting.

Board president Jagmohan Dalmiya, who addressed a press conference after the meeting, said the Board and players were close to reaching a mutually acceptable solution but hinted at the possibility of sabotage by ‘‘a self-styled organisation or some individual.’’

Dalmiya said the choice before the Board was to forego participation in the Champions Trophy or take part with a team comprising players other than those who have refused to sign the agreement. ‘‘But we unanimously decided that India’s representation will not go by default and that the other team will get a walkover, and hence decided that India would participate in the tournament,’’ he said.

Significantly, Dalmiya said the ICC had agreed to its request to restrict the current contract terms to next month’s tournament; it is otherwise meant to run till 2007. For good measure, Dalmiya stated that the Board was willing to help the players if they had legal problems with their sponsors. ‘‘We will also assist in their discussions with sponsors and even indemnify them if needed. What I cannot understand though is that some players without endorsements are also not signing and joining the bandwagon. They have nothing to lose. So why are they not signing?’’ he asked.

Agreeing that the Board had blindly signed the agreement with ICC on May 28, 2001, Dalmiya said that the time to apportion blame was not now. ‘‘Instead we should try and sort out the mess and see that the country’s pride is not damaged by fielding a ‘B’ team. We are also not closing the doors on anybody.’’

In the same breath, Dalmiya gave his Board and players an escape clause: ‘‘We will wait and see for as long as possible what other countries like Australia and England do. Their players too have not signed the agreement.’’

The fact that the Working Committee would meet on the morrow also to push through other subjects on the agenda has come in handy to put additional pressure on the Indian players.