Pakistan Cricket team’s top stars are unhappy with Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) offering them low salaries when compared to players from other teams and have reportedly revolted by demanding a complete overhaul of their central contracts.
As per a report by Cricket Pakistan, the top Pakistani cricketers are not seeing eye to eye with the board on the central contracts that they have been offered to them after their previous ones for the 2022-23 period expired on June 30th.
There were talks of a possible one-month extension, but so far, no agreement has been signed. While there were talks of a 45% raise when Najam Sethi was in charge, the players are seeking more rounded deals with benefits from PCB.
During this time, the players have raised various concerns that they wish to discuss with Zaka Ashraf, the head of the PCB management committee.
The report suggested that the Pakistan cricketers feel that a complete overhaul of their contracts is necessary because they feel they are being underpaid compared to cricketers from other countries. A player like Babar Azam, the no.1 ranked ODI batter in the world, doesn’t rank amongst the top 10 highest-earning cricketers globally.
One more demand by the cricketers is that they want the PCB to include family health insurance and education policies within their contracts. In case of a career-ending injury, the players fear that they might not have sufficient support or assistance.
The players are also seeking a share in the revenue generated from ICC events and want the PCB to disclose the list of sponsors, so they can also benefit from the association.
One big concern for the players is the clarity in dealing with No Objection Certificates (NOCs) for participating in foreign leagues. As per the current process, the head coach’s opinion is taken into consideration, followed by the decision of the Director of International Cricket, which often leads to frustrating delays.
Players want a specific timeline for responses to plan their commitments accordingly, and if the board denies them participation in a league, they should be compensated for it.
Recently, the players questioned the fairness of a fee of $25,000 per player asked by the PCB for participation in leagues in Canada and the USA. Some players found the fee excessive, especially considering their existing contracts were only worth $5,000.
Another demand is to get a copy of their central contracts from the board so that they can discuss it with their legal counsels.
Discussions on the same are likely to be resumed after the Pakistan Cricket Team returns home. They are currently in Sri Lanka, playing in a two-Test series. The players have hope that Zaka Ashraf will take their concerns seriously and address them positively.
(Cricket Pakistan report)
