Eyes wide shut, no blinks yet

But the clincher came late in the night as BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah — speaking from Dubai — told The Indian Express: ‘‘It’s all in vain. I don’t see a compromise coming through (even) in the next two days. I am afraid, it seems India will not be represented at Colombo by our top players.’’

Shah’s view appears to stem from the fact that the letter sent by the players had ‘‘nothing concrete’’ to offer. The proposal to play without signing the contract was an eye-wash, he said, the ICC would not agree to it.

It looks as though the players won’t be blinking either. The deal proposed by the players is: Though we will not sign the ICC contract in its present form, we can still play in the Champions Trophy by asking our sponsors (those who clash with ICC’s partner sponsors) not to air advertisements during the tournament.

The ICC has already shot down this offer, saying, ‘‘It is realistically not possible. The players have to be contracted with the respective boards as we have signed an agreement with the boards.’’

Shah admitted the BCCI was in a bind having signed the Participating Nations Agreement (PNA) with the ICC, so they have to play ball with the present terms and conditions.

Besides India, the South African and Sri Lankan boards are also facing a players’ rebellion and it will not be known till the next week what way their cricket is heading. The only hope, albeit a small one, is the ICC Executive Board meeting on Friday and Saturday in Dubai.

An ICC official agreed the world body was willing to give some time to these teams. “All the participating nations were asked to send in their details by Friday, but in practical terms we do realise that it may not be possible for countries like India to finalise their squad before this weekend,” he said.

‘‘As it is, top officials of all member boards and the ICC are meeting in Dubai at the moment, so we know people who matter are sitting together, trying to solve the crisis. Friday or Saturday doesn’t make any difference to the ICC.’’

In Dubai, the ICC’s Cricket Committee meeting got underway today, and the Indian board was represented by its President Jagmohan Dalmiya. Dalmiya will be joined in the Executive Board meeting by Shah.