End of an era? Ajmal, Afridi left right out of central contracts

PCB also ignores Junaid Khan; promotes Sarfraz, Yasir; demotes Umar, Shahzad

KARACHI: Neither former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi nor experienced off-spinner Saeed Ajmal were offered central contracts by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) as they announced the 30-player list from October 1 to June 30, 2017.

The players have been named following recommendations by the Central Contracts Selection Committee. The body comprises director academies Mudassar Nazar, chief selector Inzamamul Haq, head coach Mickey Arthur and international cricket operations general manager Usman Wahla.

Afridi, who has expressed a willingness to continue playing T20 cricket, is the biggest casualty, having been in the A category last time around —the first time that the all-rounder is not part of the elite group for a decade.

Ajmal, once the best bowler in the world, has found it hard to make a spot for himself in the side since changing his action after it was found to be illegal. As a result, he has been removed from the list despite being in category B last time around.



“To be honest, I don’t deserve a central contract because I haven’t been part of the team for the last 18 months,” a candid Ajmal told The Express Tribune. “I am in no way disheartened by my omission. I’d be happy if they gave some upcoming youngster a chance instead of me.”

However, the 38-year-old refused to call time on his international career. “I will continue to work hard for my comeback,” he vowed.

Apart from Afridi and Ajmal, fast-bowler Junaid Khan and middle-order batsmen Fawad Alam, Sohaib Maqsood and Umar Amin also failed to get central contracts.

Junaid had been critical over recent snubs and said he was expecting this. “To get a PCB central contract is an honour but I am not dejected at all,” said left-arm pacer Junaid. “I have faced a lot of injustices in recent times but they are just going to make me stronger. I will continue to try and win my place back as I still have a lot of cricket left in me. My current focus is on the Bangladesh Premier League and I am leaving for it soon.”



‘Careers not over for players omitted from list’

According to an official close to the committee, players were selected keeping in view their current contribution across the three formats.

“The players’ form, fitness and their future potential were [also] considered,” said the official. “If a player has been omitted, that doesn’t mean his career is over; they can be still selected based on form and fitness.”

Sarfraz, Yasir promoted; demotions for Akmal, Shahzad

The omissions paved way for fast-bowler Hasan Ali (C category) and off-spinner Mohammad Asghar (D category) to get their first central contracts.

Consistent performances from Pakistan’s T20 captain Sarfraz Ahmed and Test leg-spinner Yasir Shah meant both men went from B to A category.

But Umar Akmal and opening batsman Ahmad Shahzad, who have been confined to the sidelines due to disciplinary issues, were demoted to the D category.



The contracts

A category: Azhar Ali, Mohammad Hafeez, Misbahul Haq, Younus Khan, Shoaib Malik, Sarfraz Ahmed, Yasir Shah

B category: Wahab Riaz, Rahat Ali, Asad Shafiq, Muhammad Amir

C category: Mohammad Rizwan, Imran Khan Senior, Shan Masood, Mohammad Irfan, Sami Aslam, Babar Azam, Imad Waseem, Hassan Ali, Khali Latif, Sharjeel Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Sohail Khan, Sohail Tanvir

D category: Anwar Ali, Zulfiqar Babar, Mohammad Asghar, Ahmed Shahzad, Umar Akmal.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 28^th, 2016.

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