Pathan, Ganguly 'ambushed'

The International Cricket Council's ambush marketing clause has come back to haunt the Indian cricketers once again.

Two years after the contract crisis, India skipper Sourav Ganguly and left-arm paceman Irfan Pathan have, according to the ICC, "clearly infringed" the clause and the Board of Control for Cricket in India has been informed about the breach.

Also Read The Contract row - complete coverage

ICC spokesman Jon Long said, "The only thing I can confirm at the moment is that ICC has sent a letter to the BCCI about the matter."

Ganguly and Pathan feature in a marketing campaign launched by Tata Indicom, a telecom initiative of the Tata Group, which happens to be a direct competitor of Hutch Telecom – an official event partner of the Champions Trophy. 

According to a clause in the players' contracts, no player can endorse a product, which is in direct competition with any of the official sponsors for 45 days before, during and after an ICC event. 

Confirming receipt of the ICC's letter, BCCI secretary SK Nair said, "We have communicated the ICC stand to the team management in England and are now waiting for clarification from the players."