New Delhi, November 7:

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has paved the way for securing a billion-dollar marketing deal after ending a long dispute with its commercial powerhouse India.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) not only agreed to sign up with the ICC for major events for the next eight years but also withdrew a controversial move to bid for the sport’s global TV and marketing rights. “We will sign the Members Participation Agreement (MPA) now because the ICC has addressed our concerns,” BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah said. “We also told the ICC that we will not bid for the global TV rights for the next eight years.”

The BCCI initially declined to sign the MPA in its earlier form after objecting to the clauses which prevented its players from endorsing products that were rivals of the ICC’s official sponsors. Officials, however, refused to reveal which clauses the ICC had agreed to amend in India’s favour.

If the BCCI had not signed up, India would have been prevented from playing in ICC events like the World Cup and Champions Trophy till 2015, a huge blow to the ICC which relies on India for almost 70 per cent of revenues.