In a move that is bound to rattle the multi-crore cricket sponsorship industry, the BCCI has brought under the scanner a key clause in the endorsement contracts of some of its star players.

It has come to the BCCI’s notice that at least two senior players have a “minutes-related clause” in their endorsement contracts, which gives them extra money in the forms of a bonus for the amount of time they spent in the middle.

The Board fears that such a clause has the potential to strongly influence the way a player, especially a batsman, approaches his game, opting to spend more time in the middle, while tending to ignore the demands of the team. In other words, the longer a player stays on the TV screen, the more his market value.

And this, said a top official, was the main reason for the BCCI working committee decision today that “players shall take prior approval of the Board before signing any endorsement contract and will submit a copy of the agreement to the Board.”

Players have also been asked to “submit a copy of the existing contracts with sponsors to the Board” though the BCCI may not be able to enforce any changes.

“This clause has been brought to our notice and we are aware of the damage potential it contains,” a top BCCI source told this newspaper.

The BCCI is particularly worried about the possibilities such a clause opens up: besides affecting the individual performance of players, they fear it could even influence team decisions, such as opting to bat first against weaker opposition, when the batsmen are assured of a full quota of 50 overs.

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