Cricket: Younus demoted, no contracts for Kamran, Malik

Factors taken into consideration while finalising the list are form, performance, fitness level and future potential.

KARACHI: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Thursday dropped keeper Kamran Akmal and all-rounder Shoaib Malik from its central contract list of 31 players for 2014 and demoted veteran batsman Younus 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.

Younus was demoted a rung to a category "B" player.

Players had been waiting for the announcement since January when their 2013 contracts expired. The PCB had linked awarding the contracts to match performance and fitness.

"PCB has awarded central contracts to 31 established players and young ones with future potential - with across the board increases in remunerations," the board said a release also announcing the 25 percent rise in monthly retainers.

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 Younus, Ahmed Shehzad, Umar Akmal and Umar Gul receive 314,452 rupees a month while in category "C" Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali, Adnan Akmal, Khurram Manzoor, Nasir Jamshed and Abdur Rehman will get 179,687 rupees.

The other players in the "D" category get 89,843 rupees 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.

The board also raised Test match remuneration by 25 percent while that for one-day internationals rises by 10 percent.