Preparations for the tour have been thrown into disarray

Only three of the 13 players originally chosen have the signed tour contracts issued by the West Indies board.

The problem is the result of a dispute over sponsorship between the WICB and West Indies Players' Association which has rumbled on for most of the year.

The team is due to play two Tests in Sri Lanka and a one-day competition, also involving India.

"We have a responsibility to Sri Lanka, India and the ICC to honour the agreement for this Test series and one-day international triangular contest and we will do all in our power to meet that commitment.

"We have been in touch with some of the players currently on tour with the A team in Sri Lanka regarding their availability and have had a very positive response from them," said WICB chief executive Roger Brathwaite.

Should West Indies be unable to fulfil their commitments, they could face a fine of up to �1.1m under International Cricket Council regulations.

And despite the latest plan to avoid such an eventuality, Sri Lanka Cricket have expressed concern about the possibility of West Indies fielding an under-strength team, which could have a knock-on effect on their TV revenue.

Sri Lanka want to see Brian Lara make the tour

"We would obviously be very disappointed if the West Indies were unable to send a full-strength side.

"The likes of Brian Lara and the other West Indies players are a huge attraction amongst the cricket-loving public in Sri Lanka and we want to see the full team here," said SLC board member Adel Hassim.

It is believed that captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul, fast bowler Daren Powell and new wicket-keeper Denesh Ramdin are the three players who have signed the tour contracts.

"We are watching the situation very closely...but we hope that an amicable situation is reached," Hassim added.

The sponsorship problem first arose in Australia at the beginning of the year and continued during home series against South Africa and Pakistan.

Have Your Say on TMS Will there be a resolution soon?

Seven players, including Lara, Chris Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan, were dropped from the West Indies squad at one stage because personal endorsement deals with Cable & Wireless conflicted with the official team sponsors, Digicel.

The WICB have re-drafted clause 5 of the tour contracts for Sri Lanka, which covers the issue of sponsorship, and proposed a four-step process to finally resolve the dispute, to be overseen by Mr Justice Adrian Saunders.

The clause now "acknowledges that individual players have the sole and exclusive right to enter into their own individual commercial contracts".

And the board have also offered a fixed percentage of the net annual sponsorship to the players during the five-year deal with Digicel.