KARACHI: Embattled Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar’s career has been dealt another blow with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) deciding not to renew his central contract as he is neither playing for the national team nor competing in the domestic circuit.
PCB chairman Ijaz Butt said no fresh contract will be issued to the fast bowler, whose career has been marred by injury breakdowns, a dope scandal and disputes with the authorities.
Shoaib’s current contract expires at the end of this month.
The PCB chief said only those players are given contracts and monthly salaries who are playing for the country or competing at the domestic level. ‘Unfortunately in both cases, Shoaib has not played for a while now so from next month he will not be getting any salary from the board,’ he said.
Shoaib is placed in the category A of the central contracts, which allows him to draw a salary of Rs250,000 per month from the board.
The troubled bowler has kept a low profile since returning from England after undergoing a knee surgery two months ago. He also had a liposuction in Islamabad to remove excess fat from his body but has not spoken to the media or played any competitive cricket.
Shoaib has had a troubled time in the past two-three years and has played only a handful of matches for Pakistan. Ijaz said the fast bowler was given a central contract last time as he was active and the PCB wanted him to play regularly for the team provided he was fit and in form.
The enigmatic pacer played two one-day games against Sri Lanka in January at home and was then dropped because of poor form. Later, he also missed the two Tests against Sri Lanka in February-March due to fitness issues. He played four one-day matches against Australia in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. But after being selected for the World Twenty20, the PCB withdrew Shoaib from the squad after a medical panel of the board found he was suffering from a skin condition.
The fast bowler is still facing a case in the Lahore High Court, which has suspended an 18-month ban on him imposed by the PCB’s appellate tribunal in 2008.
The legal adviser of the PCB Tafazzul Rizvi said no fresh date has been set by the court for the next hearing so the issue continues to drag on. ‘When we get a fresh date for a hearing we will pursue this case further,’ he said.
Meanwhile, a source close to the mercurial bowler says that Shoaib has not been paid by the Board for the past 13 months.
‘Shoaib was surprised to read the statement of the PCB chairman about terminating his contract and stopping his monthly salary of Rs250,000 from next month,’ a source close to the fast bowler said. ‘Ijaz should first check facts and find out from his people in the board how many payments have been made to Shoaib since last year,’ he added.
He claimed that despite several reminders, Shaoib has not received any payments including his monthly retainer.
‘The board has not even paid him the match fees for six One-day Internationals and a Twenty20 match although he has repeatedly reminded the board to clear his dues,’ the source said.
He said a senior official of the board was responsible for not allowing any payments to Shoaib on the grounds that he had to first clear a fine of Rs7 million that was imposed on him by the appellate tribunal last year.
‘He has not received his monthly retainer, match fees, tour fees and share of logo sponsorship for last 13 months and the total amount is in excess of Rs10 million,’ the source said.—Agencies
0 comments:
Post a Comment