KARACHI: While the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) unveiled its squad for the upcoming Sri Lanka tour, it is expected to take more time in announcing the players’ central contracts.
According to PCB Director Intikhab Alam, the board is still in the process of finalising new contracts and the announcement could be made before the team departs for Sri Lanka after having been delayed several times. The last contracts expired on December 31 last year. A change in the selection committee, a possible pay-raise and performance monitoring of players by coach Dav Whatmore were also cited as reasons behind the delay in the announcement.
“We are still finalising the list,” Alam told The Express Tribune. “We are waiting for the right time and it’s possible that they may be announced before the team departs for Sri Lanka.”
According to reports, 25 to 35 players will get central contracts backdated to January. However, Alam refused to reveal the exact number of players being awarded the contract Former captain Shahid Afridi – who lost his contract following conditional retirement last year – along with Shoaib Malik, are almost certain to be included in the new list of contracts.
Officials close to the selection committee also hinted that more youngsters will get a nod this time. “Just like the selection includes several new faces, the inclusion of youngsters in the contracts will also be favoured.”
He hinted that there seemed little chances of Mohammad Yousuf and Kamran Akmal getting the central contracts along with Abdul Razzaq, who was not included in any of the three formats announced for the contracts.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 11th, 2012.
COMMENTS (1)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
Old dudes like him cannot do anything on time.