Afridi and Malik will have to earn central contracts: PCB

Karachi: Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Malik will have to perform well in the upcoming one-day series against Sri Lanka to be considered for the central contracts, a PCB official said on Wednesday.

The performance of the two comeback players and former captains will be under scrutiny in the series, starting Friday. "The central contracts are basically performance-based so the selectors will be watching their performances and form in the series against Sri Lanka," the official said. Afridi has made a comeback to the national team after he had retired in May following his removal from the captaincy after the West Indies tour. He announced his availability for Pakistan after Zaka Ashraf took over as the new PCB Chairman. Before his retirement, Afridi was in the category A of the central contracts which guarantees a monthly salary of Rs 250,000 from the board. Malik was out of the Pakistan team from the last year in September. He came back to the national team for the Zimbabwe tour but he did not fare very well in the series there. The former captain, who was also in the category A of the central contracts, has not been given a contract this year. Abdul Razzaq, who is back in the Pakistan team for the Sri Lanka series after having been dropped after the 2011 World Cup, has already been given a contract by the board. The PCB official said the new Chairman had made it clear that there would be no automatic central contracts for anyone on basis of seniority. "He has told the selectors that in future players would be given contracts only on the basis of performance and fitness," the official said. PTI