Pakistan captain Misbah-ul Haq speaks to media in Lahore. (AFP)
Centrally contracted Pakistan players will receive a 25 per cent increase in their monthly retainers and higher match fees, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said yesterday after awarding deals to 31 players.
The PCB said it had enhanced the monthly fees by 25 per cent at all levels and had also increased test match fees by the same amount. “We have also increased the fees for one-day internationals by 10 percent while the players’ share of the logo fee has also been revised upward by 15 per cent. Some of the individual performance incentives have also been made more competitive,” chief selector Moin Khan said.
Moin, who is also manager of the national side, said the board had also increased incentives for the team including win bonuses. The payout for a series win against the three teams at the top of the International Cricket Council rankings (Australia, South Africa and England), as well as India, has been increased from 200 per cent to 250 per cent.
“We have taken into consideration all factors, fitness and performances, before deciding upon the players who should be given contracts for 2014 and the list includes some promising youngsters,” he added.
Meanwhile, PCB dropped keeper Kamran Akmal and all-rounder Shoaib Malik from its central contract list of 31 players for 2014 and demoted veteran batsman Younis Khan.
The dropping of Kamran and Malik does not come as a surprise following their dismal performances at the World Twenty20 in Bangladesh in April. Younis was demoted a rung to a category “B” player. Captain Misbah-ul Haq, Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Hafeez and Saeed Ajmal are in the “A” category and will now get 449,218 rupees ($4,500) a month.
“B” players Younis, Ahmed Shehzad, Umar Akmal and Umar Gul receive 314,452 rupees ($3190) a month while in category “C” Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali, Adnan Akmal, Khurram Manzoor, Nasir Jamshed and Abdur Rehman will get 179,687 rupees ($1823).
The other players in the “D” category get 89,843 rupees ($912) a month.
“The committee took three factors into consideration while finalising the list. These were: form and performance, fitness level and future potential,” said PCB director Zakir Khan, who was a member of the committee which finalised the contracts.
