PCB set to penalise players for poor performance

The Pakistan Cricket Board is planning a deduction policy instead of performance-based central contract, it was learnt Monday. It has been learnt that the PCB is planning to improve the quality of performance with deduction of salary of the players. “The new plan will raise the standard of the game in the country and every player would look to give his best to avoid deduction from his salary.
A website quoted a PCB official as saying: “This policy will ensure quality performances from the players playing for the country, which will raise the level of cricket in Pakistan.”
The policy has been enforced in the ongoing Test series against Zimbabwe and the players who will either miss a game of fail to score runs will have to face a slashing in their salary for that particular match.
A player who drops a catch will face a deduction of 300 to 900 in his match fee. A batsman who goes back to the pavilion without scoring a run will not be paid his share of fee for that match.
According to the new rules, the players have to inform the board in advance before getting injured otherwise they will face a pay deduction from the next series that they play in.
The PCB authorities believe that this method will revolutionise the game in the country and many former and current players believe that this will leave the players with no other option than to seek their earnings from other places, leaving the possibility of match-fixing wide open.
However, the mastermind of this policy is Chairman PCB, Ijaz Butt rebuffed such notions and insisted that players would perform better by this way. “We have thought it out and believe that we are right and for players to improve their work ethics it is imperative for us to make them work hard for every dime they earn,” said Butt.
A website quoted Shahid Afridi as saying that the youngsters did not have enough money and the implementation of this policy would not be feasible. Pakistan’s former skipper, who has had his horns locked with Butt since his ouster as the captain of the one-day squad, bashed the chairman for introducing a policy that will put pressure on the players and increase their financial problems. Afridi said the young players already do not make enough money and with the imposition of such a ridiculous policy their chances to earn a better livelihood are surely going to be hindered. Speaking on the matter, the 31-year-old further said, “Butt has gone insane, he always wanted to snatch the earnings of the cricketers and now with this “black policy” he has succeeded in his efforts.”
On the other hand, according to another source it has come to light that head coach Waqar Younis decided to resign when he was told about the new rules and regulations as he was also to face a pay deduction in case the team lost a series. It is believed that Waqar was not comfortable with these restrictions and wanted to bid farewell before facing the embarrassment of a pay deduction.
Wasim Akram has also criticised the new rules and has called for an immediate sacking of Butt. Akram questioned the transparency of the whole system as he felt that players might face unjustified pay deductions in their salaries.
However, the PCB has insisted that the matter of pay deductions will be handled by Intikhab Alam and there is no question of him making any wrong calls regarding the calculations of the salaries.
Members from Cricket Australia (CA) and Cricket South Africa (CSA) have also expressed their interest in the new policies of the PCB and have pledged to follow Pakistan if the new rules bring an improvement in the performance of the country’s cricketers.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s legendary all-rounder Imran Khan who is secretly best friends with Butt has pledged to convince him to take back his ridiculous decision.