PCB forms committee to review contracts list

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has put together a committee to review the list of players awarded central contracts and decide if there is a need to amend it. The committee will be headed by Ijaz Butt, the PCB chairman, and comprises of PCB director general Javed Miandad, chief operating officer Salim Altaf, and Pakistan coach Intikhab Alam.

The move apparently comes after criticism by a crop of former Pakistan cricketers and officials, who believe the PCB overlooked several deserving players. The PCB had initially listed 26 players for central contracts earlier this month, but had been forced into including Adbur Rauf after he complained of being treated unfairly in television interviews.

But a board official said one of the main tasks of the committee would be to revive retainer contracts that first appeared in Shaharyar Khan's administration, as an incentive for younger, upcoming players. "The committee has been set up to look also at young, upcoming players who we may put on a retainership. It was something started under Shaharyar Khan and we want to pursue that," Altaf told Cricinfo.

Among the slightly surprising decisions in this year's list of contracts were the promotion of Shoaib Akhtar and Danish Kaneria to the top category. The contracts were awarded by the board after inputs from Intikhab, Abdul Qadir, chief selector and Yawar Saeed, the team manager, with seniority having played a significant role.