Seven ex-captains, summoned by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to chart a future course of action, also wanted the team's international commitments curtailed to prevent burn-out.
The BCCI met the former skippers - Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, Chandu Borde, Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Srinivas Venkataraghavan, Ravi Shastri and Krishnamachari Srikkanth - on the first day of a two-day brainstorming session here.
A BCCI release issued after the meeting said the captains had suggested 10 measures to improve cricket in the country after Rahul Dravid's men were knocked out of the World Cup in the first round.
The players must not only limit the number of endorsements, but also take the BCCI's permission and sumbit a copy of the contract before signing a new commercial deal.
Indian players are much sought after by companies for endorsing their products in a country where cricket is the most popular sport.
Superstar Sachin Tendulkar, widely regarded as one of the world's