By IANS
New Delhi : The issue of Indian players' contracts slipped further into bureaucratic mire Saturday when the cricket board formed a two-member panel to "look into" the matter after the team's Bangladesh tour ends May 29.
The decision, which was taken at a meeting of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) here Saturday evening, means that an unhappy team would be headed for Bangladesh on Monday for a Test and One-day International series starting May 10.
"We have formed a two-member panel, comprising BCCI treasurer N. Srinivasan and vice-president Shashank Manohar to look into the matter after the Bangladesh tour," BCCI Secretary Niranjan Shah, who attended the meeting at board president Sharad Pawar's residence, told IANS.
Asked why the contracts, which were due Oct 1 last year, hadn't been renewed, Shah tried to downplay the enormity of the problem.
"There is no problem as such, just that the players have cited some general problem," he said at the end of the meeting of top officials.
The players have objected to certain clauses relating to personal endorsements in the drafts that the BCCI had sent to their homes some days ago.
The 20 top players who have been offered the contracts are using the conditioning camp in Kolkata to discuss the matter.
The players' other main grouse is the uniform annual retainership amount offered – of Rs.500,000. This is besides the match fees and yet-to-be-disclosed bonuses for match and series wins.
Previously, the players were divided into three groups and received varying retainership amount as per their seniority and current form.
On the appointment of the national coach, Shah said that a Pawar-headed committee would discuss the issue by the end of this month.
"The committee will either meet by the end of this month or early June," he said.
BCCI will have to take a decision on Greg Chappell's successor quickly as the team has a tour of England, starting early July.
Shah declined to say whether the new coach would be an Indian or from abroad.
Former Test player Ravi Shastri is the interim cricket manager for the Bangladesh tour, which comprises two Test matches and three One-day Internationals.