ICC releases India's World Cup purse

Jagmohan Dalmiya, the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, comfirmed that the International Cricket Council had released almost the entire amount it had withheld from India in the aftermath of last year's World Cup. While declining to comment on the exact figure, Dalmiya said, "We received the money last week."

The ICC had withheld $6.5m from India after the Global Cricket Corporation, which is the marketing rights holder for ICC events, had claimed damages based on the fact that India's players had signed an altered contract which they alleged played into the hands of rival sponsors. It's estimated that $6m has now been released. Dalmiya said that the decision was a vindication of the BCCI view that the money had been `wrongly' withheld.

The decision was taken after IDI, the commercial arm of the ICC, took note of the negotiations with Global Cricket Corporation. However, the ICC has retained enough funds to cover for any potential damages it may have to pay.

New Zealand, England and South Africa were the other countries who had their share of the profits withheld for violation of the contract. New Zealand had refused to play in Zimbabwe, while England's cricketers didn't travel to Zimbabwe for their Group A encounter.