Inzamam likely to lose out on contract

Inzamam ul Haq, former captain and Pakistan's most successful batsman, is likely to lose out on a central contract because of his decision to retire from ODIs. Due to that decision, and the PCB's insistence that only those players who play both forms of cricket are up for contracts, Inzamam's chances of landing a contract look slim, according to the chief selector.

"The PCB has given us a clear policy to consider only those players who are available for both Test and ODIs," Salahuddin Ahmed told APP. He stressed that Inzamam was not overlooked in any way but it was only his decision to retire that will work against him when contracts are handed out.

"We have submitted a list of 30 players to the PCB and it will be the choice of the board to award central contracts to 20 players. We do not know who will be given contracts," he said. "It is not our job to determine the categories of players and it is the discretion of the board to place the players in various categories."

The Pakistan team is involved in one-day cricket till the end of September, including matches in Scotland as well as the Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa. Their first Test will be when they host South Africa for a series in October, which may well be the first chance to recall Inzamam to the national side.

"At the moment our priority is to look at immediate assignments and we will be giving due consideration to Inzamam for his selection based on performance and fitness. Our job is to stick with PCB's policies and we are working in a transparent manner as far as selection of the team or finalising the list of players for awarding them central contracts," he maintained.

The contracts are due to be handed out by July 1 while the Board also hopes to appoint a coach in place before the team sets out to the tour of Scotland.