Malik, Kamran denied PCB’s central contracts

The Pakistan Cricket Board on Monday gave central contract to 23 players with Shoaib Malik being the notable omission while Abdul Razzaq, Saeed Ajmal and Abdur Rehman were awarded the contracts. Malik was dropped from the contractees list as the integrity committee was not convinced about his accounts. Sources in the board say that the integrity committee did not find Malik’s accounts statement satisfactory while the reports of giving contract to wicket-keeper batsman Kamran Akmal and leg-spinner Danish Kaneria also proved wrong as both these players were already out of favour. Kaneria has got involved in litigation the with board.
An official of the board said that players considered for the contract include those who have future with Pakistan cricket and those who have lost credibility, fitness and form would not be considered even for selection let alone contract. The six-month contracts for 23 players, valid from June to December this year, were not accompanied by pay rises.Malik, 28, Kamran, 29 and Kaneria, 30 have not been cleared of match fixing and other charges, PCB’s director Intikhab Alam said in a press conference. “As long as Malik and Kaneria are not cleared by the PCB integrity committee, a meeting of which is scheduled for August 15, they will not be considered for the contracts,” said Alam.
Malik and Kaneria have been summoned to appear before the committee. Alam said Kamran’s fitness and performance were below par. He was in ‘A’ category in the last contracts. Veteran batsman Mohammad Yousuf, dropped from the 2011 World Cup squad for poor form, also lost out on the contract this year. All-rounder Shahid Afridi was also missing from the list as he announced his retirement from international cricket to protest against being dumped as one-day captain two months ago. Alam said players were placed in three categories based on their seniority, fitness, discipline and performance. Captain Misbah-ul-Haq, Younis Khan, Mohammad Hafeez, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal and Adur Rehman were placed in the ‘A’ category and will receive a monthly salary of 250,000 rupees ($2,900). Hafeez, Ajmal and Rehman had been ranked in the ‘B’ category for contracts awarded from January to June 2011. Abdul Razzaq, Imran Farhat, Sohail Tanveer, Umar Akmal, Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Wahab Riaz and Taufiq Umar were in the latest ‘B’ category and will receive 175,000 rupees ($2,024) a month.
Junaid Khan, Tanvir Ahmed, Hammad Azam, Sarfraz Ahmed, Sohail Khan, Adnan Akmal, Yasir Shah, Rameez Raja and Sharjeel Khan were given ‘C’ category status and salaries of 100,000 rupees ($1,156).