Red flag was contracts that paid extra for longer stay at the crease

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.

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.

In fact, the issue of endorsements affecting performance has been the key theme of the BCCI’s two-day review meeting here following the World Cup debacle. It was first raised by Kapil Dev during last afternoon’s meeting between BCCI officials and former India captains.

“We felt that for the players to remain focused, they should not be allowed to do any sponsor-related events 15 days before the tour and during the tour. We had also suggested a cap on the number of brands. We also came up with a number of other suggestions to ensure that this issue does not affect a player’s performance,” Kapil Dev told The Indian Express. The Board panel today also decided to limit the number of players who can sign for the same sponsor, as recommended by the former captains and ex-coach Greg Chappell. This move, as this paper reported yesterday, is aimed at curbing the influence a particular business house can possibly wield on team affairs, particularly while selecting the final XI.

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