It's monkey-business time again - so it seems, with the BCCI not declaring India's probables for the World Cup. The next round of shenanigans over the ICC contract starts anew.

So why was India's list the only one missing after the December 2 deadline? Australian players too had problems with the ICC contract. But the ACB didn't withhold their names.

Yesterday, Amrit Mathur, the BCCI media manager, said the probables would be announced in a few days. But senior officials already damaged his credibility. K Nair, the board secretary, discovered only last week that India were not obliged to name their squad so early. On Sunday, Jagmohan Dalmiya, the BCCI chief, told media persons that a solution to the ICC contract was nowhere in sight. Here we go again.

By failing to name the provisional squad, the BCCI has exposed itself to charges of using pressure tactics on senior players. And by refusing to explain why it missed the deadline, it bolsters arguments of being opaque, ad hoc and paying lip service to public relations. What use is having a media manager with no information to give the media?

Announcing the preliminary squad on time would have been a simple act of faith: all right, the BCCI would have told the country, we are going to the World Cup with our best players. It was the least that the BCCI owed to India's senior cricketers. After asking them to compromise their rights to get the ICC Champions Trophy going, Dalmiya had vowed to stick up for their rights, ahead of the World Cup. Is that promise cracking already?

With both players and the ICC sponsors determined to ensure that the Champions Trophy was a one-off exception, the BCCI is trapped again in a tighter corner than in September.

Finding a happy escape route out starts with transparency and trust. But Mathur did not contribute much to it by casually telling media persons that the bridge of the December 31 deadline will be crossed when it comes. Until then, does it imply that the BCCI will continue being masters of the ad hoc?

After confabulating with senior Indian players before they left for New Zealand, Dalmiya said that a solution was a long-way off. But by not declaring the probables list, the BCCI declared that the answer is not even in sight.

India's series in New Zealand ends on January 14. Before that date, will senior Indian players be again driven to distraction, as during the England tour? Or will the BCCI talk to the newly formed Indian players union and let Sourav Ganguly and his team concentrate on getting India their first series win outside the subcontinent since 1986?

Time for some answers, Mr Dalmiya, of the truthful variety.

© Wisden CricInfo Ltd