Inzamam wants central contracts

Inzamam-ul-Haq has urged the Pakistan Cricket Board to implement a central contract system, similar to that used by Australia, England and India, who recently announced that certain players would be awarded contracts in time for the Asia Cup which starts in Sri Lanka in mid July.

Inzamam suggested that only such a system would stop the exodus every summer to the English counties, a phenomenon which he reckoned was responsible for the multitude of injuries and fitness problems that Pakistan's bowlers have suffered in recent seasons.

Talking to the media at Pakistan's National Cricket Academy, he said, "We talk about and compare ourselves with Australia and India. But we don't follow the central contact system being practiced by them."

Inzamam suggested that a failure to adopt central contracts would only encourage the cricketers to chase lucrative county assignments, and also to take part in exhibition matches that were frowned upon by the authorities. Soon after the defeat in the recent Test series against India, Yousuf Youhana, Inzamam's vice-captain, had made a similar request. The PCB dismissed the idea then, saying that they didn't have to funds to meet the players' demands.