The chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Management Committee, Zaka Ashraf, believes that the cricketers of the country aren’t paid enough.
While speaking to media in Bahawalpur on Monday, Ashraf also said that there is no rift in Pakistan team which is currently participating in the ICC World Cup 2023 in India.
“Pakistan’s cricketers are paid very less,” said Ashraf.
“There is no rift in Pakistan team. These stories are only spread by those who are enemies of Pakistan cricket,” he added.
It must be noted that the PCB successfully negotiated a three-year central contacts deal with its senior players that will run from July 1 2023 to June 30, 2026, recently.
The list of players are divided into four categories with significant increases in monthly retainers. Revenue from ICC will be incorporated in overall monthly remuneration.
The monthly retainers of Category A (3 players) were increased by 202 %, Category B (6) 144 %, Category C (2) 135 % and Category D (14) 127 %.
Ashraf also spoke about the resignation of chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq, who stepped down recently after being investigated over conflict of interest.
“I called Inzamam-ul-Haq for a meeting but he resigned before that,” he said.
It was rumoured that Inzamam holds shares in a company owned by players' agent Talha Rehmani.
This disclosure sparked concerns regarding potential conflicts of interest, given that Rehmani represents several of Pakistan's leading cricketers, including Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, and Shaheen Shah Afridi.
Furthermore, there are additional queries surrounding whether Inzamam's dual role as both Chief Selector and a shareholder in a company that represents top cricketers might have an influence on player selection decisions.
The federal government Saturday approved an extension of three months in the tenure of Zaka Ashraf as the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) Management Committee.
The federal cabinet has approved the extension of the tenure of PCB's Management Committee for three months under Rule 16(j) of the Rules of Business, 1973 and Article 48 of the PCB Constitution, 2014, a notification issued by the Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) stated.
The Management Committee is only authoritised to perform the primary task of finalising the board of governance (BoG) and conduct the election of the PCB chairman at the earliest.
Moreover, the notification said the Management Committee will only perform the day-to-day affairs of PCB and “shall not make any policy decisions or high-level appointments”.
The development comes as the current PCB top head is facing allegations of flagrant misdoings and unconstitutional decisions from a member of his own Management Committee as his tenure nears an end.
Zulfiqar Malik, a member of the Management Committee, raised these allegations in an email addressed to Ashraf and the Management Committee, ESPNcricinfo reported.