The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) remains under fire. Earlier it was the unwanted attention from the press because of issues concerning It was the rapid turnover of the board members and the captain that led to a lot of criticism directed at it, but now there is something else that has come out. According to the Pakistani media, and it is hard to believe, issuing four months’ salary including for national stars like Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Afridi is not forthcoming. And not only the national men’s team, but there has also been news that the women’s cricket team of Pakistan had not received their salaries for the past four months as well.
25 senior male cricketers were given 3-year contracts effective July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2026. Nonetheless, it has been reported that the contracts are under revision because of the poor performance of the team, said a report attributed to Cricket Pakistan.
“The World Cup was won and players before the World Cup, there was a lot of pressure on the bureaucrats to give contracts which would be, or will be, very good but this time it is different. They have not received their salaries for four months, from July to October, and are still waiting after many calls,” said the report.
“The payments concerning the sponsors for the logo imprinted on their uniforms have also been pending for a few months,” it added.
On the flip side, a report from Cricbuzz, spoke about two teams, men’s and women’s whose contracts differ in specific durations. The women’s team players who have signed a 23 month contract since August 21, 2023 have not been paid for the last four months. The contract was tactically intended to be evaluated and reviewed after every twelve months but it has not.
‘It is work in progress, As soon as the lists are final and approved then contracts will be given effective on; 1 July 2024’, the board also reportedly said in the meeting.
While the Pakistan men’s team is preparing to play a three-match Test series against visiting England which starts on October 7, the women’s team has gone to UAE for Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 which began on October 3.