The dispute overshadowing India's preparations for the World Cup has escalated with Jagmohan Dalmiya deciding to resign from the tournament's Contracts Committee.

Dalmiya, the president of the Board of Control for Cricket In India, said he had taken the decision in order to uphold the interests of the Indian players.

"Since the legality of the restrictive clauses in the contract is being tested by the Indian board, it would not have been fair to remain on the committee," he explained.

The BCCI is now pressing for the matter to be taken to an international court of arbitration.

A clause in the contracts, which every player taking part in the World Cup must sign by 14 January, prohibits personal endorsement deals in order to protect the interests of the official sponsors.

Leading Indian players rely on such deals for a substantial part of their income and threatened to boycott the ICC Champions Trophy in September before backing down when a last-minute compromise was agreed.

The International Cricket Council insists that "significant concessions" have been made since then.

But Dalmiya has insisted "Certain restrictive clauses in the proposed ICC contracts are unjustified and the Indian board will not be a party in an attempt to induce the players to break existing contracts."

The Indian selectors have announced a 15-man squad for the tournament including all the top players, like captain Sourav Ganguly, and star batsmen Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid.

But unless the matter is resolved, there remains the possibility that they could decide to withdraw from the tournament.

The contracts prohibit any personal sponsorship deals from just before the start of the World Cup until 20 days after the final, if India get that far.

But the players say the restrictions should only apply for the duration of the tournament.

The ICC says India are bound by the Participating Nations Agreement, signed by all competing countries in March.