Younis Khan and Afridi recieve pay hikes

Younis Khan, the Pakistan vice-captain, and Shahid Afridi, the Pakistani allrounder, have been given pay raises by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). They join Inzamam-ul-Haq, Yousuf Youhana, Shoaib Akhtar and Abdul Razzaq as the highest-paid contracted cricketers in Pakistan.

The PCB had offered one-year contratcs to 20 players and the highest monthly salary is 200,000 Rupees ($3,352) in addition to match and tour fees. "Younis [Khan] and Afridi have performed outstandingly since last winter and deserved this promotion," Shaharyar Khan, the PCB chairman, told Reuters. He also said that other consistent players had been given new contracts with increases in pay. The second tier group receive a monthly salary of 125,000 Rupees and those in the third get category 75,000 Rupees. Pakistan started the contract system in order to maintain a close watch on the fitness levels of its players and to discourage them from playing abroad in the off-season.

Younis has played 37 Test matches and has scored three centuries in his last four Tests. He has performed very impressively in 2005, scoring 778 runs in 12 innings and averaging 70.72. Afridi, who has the distinction of scoring the two fastest centuries in one-day cricket, has also shown much improvement with impressive performances with both bat and ball in 2005.