“The (Australian) players have already started to sign the agreement,” IPL chairman Lalit Modi told Reuters on Friday. While contracted players sign a binding memorandum of understanding at the start, organisers had set Sunday as the deadline for signing long-form agreements.

The row had led to doubts over the availability of the 16 contracted Australian players, who also include Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden and Mike Hussey for the Mumbai auction. CA wanted the interests of its sponsors to be protected during the IPL, a request the organisers had rejected.

More than 80 international players will feature in the auction with each of the eight franchises having a cap of $5 million to buy foreign players. The inaugural 44-day IPL starts on April 18.

The IPL has been officially endorsed by cricket's governing body but players cannot compete if it clashes with international duties. Australia's trip to Pakistan in March and April clashes but organisers expect those not touring to take part in the inaugural event.

The players have agreed three-year contracts so even if they do not play now, they will be available at a later stage. Set up to counter an unofficial Indian Twenty20 league that began late last year, the inaugural event will be played in eight cities and feature 59 matches.

According to a report in The Age, IPL owners have budged on their condition that players must be available to promote the sponsors of their franchises and will not have to feature in commercials for rivals of CA's sponsors.

Inderjit Singh Bindra, a former president of the BCCI and co-founder of the IPL, said there were still issues to work through but he believed a resolution would be reached in the next two days.

IPL's chairman Lalit Modi, who earlier threatened to run the competition without Australian players, is poring over the final version of the contract recommended by CA chief James Sutherland, with the major sticking point now being rival sponsors' logos on team shirts.

"My hearing is that Lalit and James are very close to arriving at a conclusion that is satisfying to both parties.

Every problem has to have a solution. We have a very close relationship with Cricket Australia and we are not going to sacrifice that for some temporary gain," Bindra said.

While some may view the development as a win for Cricket Australia, Bindra preferred to call it "a victory for cricket".