Pakistan Cricket Board: Central contracts awarded to 31 players
Thursday 5 June 2014 15:12, UK
Skipper Misbah-ul-Haq and experienced all-rounder Shahid Afridi were among five players awarded a Category A central contract by the Pakistan Cricket Board on Thursday.
Mohammad Hafeez, Saeed Ajmal and Junaid Khan were also given top category contracts by the PCB who awarded deals to 27 other players.
Experienced middle order batsman Younis Khan was demoted to Category B which also includes Umar Gul.
The PCB has increased monthly salaries and Test match fees for all categories by 25% while remuneration for ODIs has been raised by 10%.
Win bonuses have increased for series victories against the three top-ranked teams in the world – Australia, South Africa and England – as well as against arch-rivals India.
A three-man panel consisting of Zakir Khan, Moin Khan and Mohammad Akram selected the contracted players after evaluating their fitness during a month-long training camp in Lahore.
Zakir said: "The committee took three factors into consideration while finalising the list – form and performance, fitness level and future potential. The list includes some promising youngsters.”
Central Contracts:
Category A: Misbah-ul-Haq, Mohammad Hafeez, Saeed Ajmal, Shahid Afridi, Junaid Khan.
Category B: Younis Khan, Ahmad Shahzad, Umar Akmal, Umar Gul.
Category C: Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali, Adnan Akmal, Khurram Manzoor, Nasir Jamshed, Abdul Rehman.
Category D: Sohaib Maqsood, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Bilawal Bhatti, Sharjeel Khan, Zulfiqar Babar, Fawad Alam, Ehsan Adil, Mohammad Irfan, Wahab Riaz, Raza Hasan, Umar Amin, Harris Sohail, Rahat Ali, Shaan Masood, Mohammad Talha, Anwar Ali.
