Mumbai, Feb 5 (IANS) Ambush marketing again surfaced ahead of a World Cup as a concerned bunch of Indian players, including Sachin Tendulkar, spoke to the cricket board on the contentious International Cricket Council's (ICC) clause.

Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh and Ashish Nehra sought clarification from Indian cricket board president Shashank Manohar Friday on the ICC clause that protects the official sponsors of the event and imposes restrictions on the personal brand endorsements of players seven days before the World Cup. The players also wanted to know about a similar clause in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

"With an event of this magnitude, there are multiple fronts that need legal protection. Especially considering the event is spread over three countries, there are various permutations and combinations that have to be looked into," ICC Legal Head David Becker was quoted was saying in a sports website.

"Our primary responsibility is to protect the rights of our broadcasters, sponsors and partners who have made significant investments towards the tournament. This has to be done at every venue and at every game. Ambush marketing, protection of intellectual property rights, counterfeit merchandise and online piracy are just some of the avenues that have to be monitored," he said.

The ICC has sent guidelines to all the players regarding the issue.

"We have a very thorough rights protection programme in place. Pre-tournament inspections have been carried out at each venue. The major part of the programme is to educate stakeholders, officials, organisers and volunteers on the protection of rights. Competitors of our sponsors have been provided with guidelines relating to the use of the World Cup brand and its related content, the use of tickets, the use of participating players and endorsements," Becker said.