The 2003 World Cup was a key milestone for the Indian one-day team, but the participation of its star players was in serious doubt at one point due to a long-standing contracts issue.

India reached the final of the World Cup for the first time in two decades, and even though the all-important clash did not go their way, the tournament is remembered as a coming-of-age moment for a young team that enjoyed sustained success in white-ball cricket.

Ahead of the tournament though, the Indian team’s participation remained in limbo as close as a month ahead of the World Cup, with the Indian players in conflict with the ICC over official contracts for the tournament.

The Indian team had initially refused to sign the full Players Terms in the contract (including the imaging clause and ambush marketing clause), as it was in conflict with their commercial endorsements. The ICC had stated that personal endorsements be put on hold for the extent of the competition (including 30 days before and five days after the event), but the Indian players had asserted that they had signed full image rights in their personal contracts, without any negotiations in place.

The issue had stretched on for months with the BCCI and ICC involved in continuous negotiations and shooting down each other’s proposals. The ICC had even sent two delegations to India to resolve the issue, but BCCI remained “unable or unwilling” to meet their contractual obligations, according to the world body.

It was only in January 2003 that the issue was ultimately resolved, with ICC’s executive board figuring out an agreement with the Indian board. The unique exemption given to India allowed its players to participate under altered contracts until the end of the tournament. The BCCI, however, would have had to bear any compensation that arose from ICC’s commercial partners due to the altered contracts, which would be determined through an arbitration process. Further, the ICC would withhold the $9 million World Cup fee pending the outcome of the arbitration process.

A full-strength Indian team participated in the competition, losing just one match up until the final, where they were crushed by an in-form Australia. Incidentally, two months after the final, event sponsors made compensation claims, extending the saga even further.

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