LAHORE – Pakistan Cricket Board on Friday has decided to grant heavyincentives to central contract players after their brilliant performancesthroughout the year which includes a Champions Trophy Triumph andconsistent performances in T-20 format which led the team to No.1 spot inthe rankings.
According to sources, PCB’s central contract will be in effect from July1st and the list of players in the central contracts will be announced inthe next two days.
The central contacts list will include Shaheen Shah Afridi and Babar Azamwill be promoted to A- category in the central contracts list, whereasPakistan Cricket Board has decided not to grant central contracts to AhmedShehzad and Umar Akmal who have not been part of the national team for thelast 18 months.
Pakistan Cricket Board has decided to increase the amount of money in the Acategory of central contracts system, as players in it will earn more thanRs0.9 million, players who will make B-category will get more than 0.7million, whereas players in C and D category of central contract will beawarded more than 0.3 and 0.2 million respectively.Meanwhile, the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) recent overhaul of thedomestic cricket structure on Friday spells more money and better playingcondition for players.
According to reports, the Pakistan Cricket Board will no longer be awardingcentral contracts to the players for the domestic season; it will insteadbe awarding high match fees to players taking part in the Quaid-e-AzamTrophy and the National One-DayCup.
Under the new system, 11 players will receive Rs50,000 for a first-classmatch whereas they will be entitled to Rs30,000 for a one-day match.In a week’s time, a player can earn up to Rs98,000 whereas those who playfor the entire season will be able to earn up to Rs1.3-1.5 million.
Central contracts for the domestic season will be abolished, after severalplayers, despite taking the money, refused to play domestic cricket.Through this new system, only those players who participate in first-classand one-day matches will be able to earn.
The Quaid-e-Azam Trophy will kick off from September 1 this year with thePakistan Cricket Board giving allowance to players for residence and travel.
Sources have also said that chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq has requested thePakistan Cricket Board to revert to more than one venue for the matches, aschanging the venue will help in judging the players’ capabilities moreeffectively.