By Ayanjit Sen BBC in Delhi

India's home series against Australia next month is in jeopardy

Indian cricket bosses held an emergency meeting on Thursday to resolve the TV rights row which threatens to cancel October's home series with Australia.

Last week, the Board of Control for Cricket in India awarded a four-year deal to show matches to Zee Telefilms.

But the decision was challenged by pan-Asian broadcaster ESPN Star Sports in the Bombay High Court.

The court ordered no rights to be granted until the dispute is settled.

The Australian Cricket Board has said prolonging the matter could jeopardise the series, with their squad due to arrive befoire the end of the month.

The BCCI agreed at a meeting in Calcutta to abide by the court's decision.

We have requested the court to expedite the matter BCCI secretary SK Nair

It also said clarification from court would be sought on whether it could go ahead with a contingency plan for telecast of the upcoming India-Australia series while refraining from awarding the telecast rights.

Board secretary S K Nair told the BBC that the national body had conveyed its problems to the court and explained its duty to fulfill obligations towards the International Cricket Council.

"We have requested the court to expedite the matter," he said.

Earlier, Indian private television network, Zee had decided not to re-bid for the of television rights.

Zee won the TV rights for �173m, but the deal angered ESPN, which took legal action, claiming the BCCI had violated its own tendering process.

ESPN said that the tender document required bidders to possess experience of telecasting international cricket events which, it claims, Zee do not have.

The court proposed the option of a fresh bid to be placed before it if both parties agreed.

Zee wanted time to consider the proposal, but decided not to re-bid.

Meanwhile, senior Indian lawyer and former minister Ram Jethmalani appeared before the Bombay High Court on Thursday on behalf of Indian television network SAB TV and said ESPN was a foreign joint venture not eligible to bid for the telecast rights.

According to him, ESPN do not meet the criteria laid down by the BCCI.

The court is yet to decide whether to accept Mr Jethmalani's plea or not.

Australia are scheduled to play the first Test in the southern Indian city of Bangalore from 6 October and the Indian cricket bosses now faces the task of ensuring television footage for the series in accordance with the ICC regulations.