'Contract issue won't affect performance'

Dhaka: The vexed contract issue would not have a bearing on the Indian players' performance in the ongoing cricket tour to Bangladesh, captain Rahul Dravid said.

"The players don't have that in the back of their minds. They have cricket and are focused totally on cricket," Dravid told news persons at his customary match eve media meet.

The BCCI has formed a two-member committee to hold detailed discussions with the players, who are said to be unhappy with the retainer fee offered to them and also certain clauses incorporated in the contracts due from last October.

Board vice president Shashank Manohar and treasurer N Srinivasan are in the committee which would talk to the players after the Bangladesh tour.

Dravid said the players had not had any interaction with the Board on the issue ever since the tour started.

"These things will be taken care of. These things will have to be taken care of," he said.

The BCCI, which wanted the players to sign the contracts before leaving for Bangladesh, later made a climbdown and said the matter would be thrashed out after the tour.

As per the clauses, the players will get only Rupees five lakh as flat retainer fees, irrespective of their seniority.

Introducing a performance-linked payment system, the contracts entitle the players for bonus for series and match wins.

Unhappy over the clauses, some of the senior players held a meeting in Kolkata during the conditioning camp ahead of the Bangladesh tour and are said to have finalised a bunch of suggestions to be put forward to the Board.