The Indian cricket board decided on Wednesday to back its players in an ongoing contracts row, taking the International Cricket Council (ICC) head on.

"We've decided to stand by our players on the ICC World Cup contracts issue," president Jagmohan Dalmiya told reporters after the cricket board met in Calcutta.

"Certain restrictive clauses in the proposed ICC contracts are unjustified and the Indian board will not be a party in an attempt to induce the players to break existing contracts," he said.

The proposed ICC contracts bar players from advertising products that conflict with those of the official tournament sponsors, even if they have existing deals.

Top Indian players including star batsman Sachin Tendulkar have contracts with rivals of official sponsors.

The situation mirrors a row that preceded the ICC Champions Trophy tournament in Sri Lanka in September, when top Indian stars were on the verge of withdrawing.

But this time the Indian board has said it will name a team of 15 players by the December 31 deadline and then await the outcome of the contracts issue.

"We are not on a warpath with the ICC and want an amicable solution," he said.

The Indian cricket chief also urged sponsors to help solve the crisis.

"The Indian sponsors and Indian partners of global concerns should grant dispensation to players and help pave the way for them to participate in the World Cup," he said.

"We are hopeful that sponsors will act in the larger interests of the country and its players. Otherwise, we will be forced to review commercial relations with them."

The ICC last week made a final offer after the Indian board refused to agree to the original terms.

The ICC compromise deal would reduce the post-tournament ban on ads for rival sponsors to just five days, except for those teams that reach the finals, who would face a restriction of 20 days or until the first one-day international or Test match, whichever came sooner.

The ICC originally sought to impose a 30-day ban before, after and during the World Cup, to be held in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya from February 8 to March 23.

Indian players, who had said they would forego rival deals for the length of the tournament, later wanted to alter the restriction to just the days on which they played in televised matches.

Indian players have also expressed concern about their tournament image rights, only wanting the ICC to use them for two months after the event.

The ICC have since offered a three-month period as opposed to the original six.

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