PCB Shortens Contract Duration, No Pay Cuts for Cricketers

The Pakistan Cricket Board made the decision on Monday to shorten the three-year central contracts to one year, but it did not decide to cut player salaries.

Mohsin Naqvi, the chairman of the PCB, called a meeting in Lahore where decisions were made.

The meeting was attended by selectors Mohammad Yousuf and Asad Shafiq, assistant coach Azhar Mahmood, new Pakistani red-ball coach Jason Gillespie, white-ball coach Gary Kirsten, and other top authorities.

After Pakistan’s national team’s disastrous performance in the T20 World Cup, where it lost to both India and the United States and was eliminated from the Super Eight round, the board announced that it plans to significantly restructure its rules.

“The selectors have recommended no change in the financial part of the central contracts which would now be revised into 12-month contracts with players fitness, behaviour and form all to be assessed every 12 months,” a board official said.

The players received central contracts last year that guaranteed no changes to agreement conditions and financials for three years, as a result of an arrangement with former PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf.

According to the official, PCB has now mandated that all players under contract, both domestically and centrally, must participate in fitness testing every three months.
The tests would be controlled by the two head coaches.

Additionally, it was determined to adhere to strict technical requirements while evaluating player applications for NOCs to play in foreign leagues, with the main goal being to guarantee the player’s availability and fitness for the national team.

“Only (those) players with a high fitness and performance criteria will receive NOCs, ensuring a high standard of representation in international leagues,” the official said.

At the meeting, it was determined that all players would be required to play in domestic cricket, and before choosing any player for the national teams, selectors were advised to keep an eye on this.

According to the official, all attendees at the conference reached a unanimous decision to enforce strong sanctions for player-made groups and to have zero tolerance for disciplinary cases in order to maintain team cohesion and morale.

To support grassroots cricket, plans are also in place to modernize high-performance centers across the country.

There are plans to open new centers in Peshawar and Islamabad, and Gillespie and Kirsten will be in charge of these projects.

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