The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has made significant changes to its central contracts policy for cricketers, opting to reduce the duration from three years to one year, while maintaining the current pay levels. These decisions were made during a meeting in Lahore, chaired by PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi, and attended by key figures including red-ball coach Jason Gillespie, white-ball coach Gary Kirsten, selectors Mohammad Yousuf and Asad Shafiq, and assistant coach Azhar Mahmood.
Key points from the meeting include:
Contract Duration: Central contracts will now be revised to 12-month periods. Players’ fitness, behavior, and form will be assessed annually.
Fitness Tests: Mandatory fitness tests will be conducted every three months for centrally and domestically contracted players, supervised by the head coaches.
NOCs for Foreign Leagues: Players will need to obtain No Objection Certificates (NOCs) for participating in foreign leagues. The priority is to ensure their fitness and availability for the national team.
Domestic Cricket Participation: All players must participate in domestic cricket, with selectors monitoring this before making national team selections.
Disciplinary Measures: A zero-tolerance policy on disciplinary issues has been adopted. Instances of player groupings will incur strict penalties to maintain team unity and morale.
Grassroots Cricket: Plans to upgrade high-performance centers nationwide are in place, with new centers to be established in Islamabad and Peshawar. Gillespie and Kirsten will oversee these initiatives.
These changes come in the wake of Pakistan’s disappointing performance in the T20 World Cup, where the team failed to advance to the Super Eight stage after losses to India and the USA. The PCB aims to overhaul its policies to improve the national team’s performance and uphold high standards in both domestic and international cricket.
For more details, you can visit The Hindu article.
