Misbah, Afridi among 5 awarded top PCB contracts

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Test and limited-overs captain Misbah-ul-Haq and flamboyant all-rounder Shahid Afridi were among five players given top category A contracts by the Pakistan Cricket Board on Thursday.
Mohammad Hafeez, Saeed Ajmal and Junaid Khan were the other players in the top category as the PCB announced central contracts to 31 players in four categories.
Experienced middle order batsman Younes Khan was demoted to category B, which also includes Ahmad Shahzad, Umar Akmal and Umar Gul.
The PCB’s director of international Zakir Khan, chief selector Moin Khan and camp commandant Mohammad Akram selected the contracted players after evaluating their fitness during a month-long training camp in Lahore.
“The committee took three factors into consideration while finalyzing the list; form and performance, fitness level and future potential,” Zakir Khan said.
Test specialists Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali, wicketkeeper Adnan Akmal, Khurram Manzoor, Nasir Jamshed and Abdul Rehman were awarded category C contracts.
Fast bowlers Mohammad Irfan, Bilawal Bhatti and Anwar Ali were among the notable players in the list of 16 players, which were given category D contracts.
The PCB has increased the monthly salaries and test match fees for all categories by 25 percent while remuneration for ODIs has been raised by 10 percent.
Players will also be offered increased win bonuses — from 200 to 250 percent — for winning a series against the three top-ranked teams in the world as well as against archrivals India.
The contracts will be effective from Jan. 1 this year.
Central contracts:
Category A: Misbah-ul-Haq, Mohammad Hafeez, Saeed Ajmal, Shahid Afridi, Junaid Khan.
Category B: Younes Khan, Ahmad Shahzad, Umar Akmal, Umar Gul.
Category C: Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali, Adnan Akmal, Khurram Manzoor, Nasir Jamshed, Abdul Rehman
Category D: Sohaib Maqsood, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Bilawal Bhatti, Sharjeel Khan, Zulfiqar Babar, Fawad Alam, Ehsan Adil, Mohammad Irfan, Wahab Riaz, Raza Hasan, Umar Amin, Harris Sohail, Rahat Ali, Shaan Masood, Mohammad Talha, Anwar Ali.

Mithun, Taskin in Bangladesh team

Bangladesh on Thursday included uncapped wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Mithun and paceman Taskin Ahmed in their 15-man squad for the one-day international series against India that begins next week.
India will arrive in Dhaka on June 13 to play the three matches at Dhaka’s Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on June 15, 17 and 19.
Mithun played a Twenty20 International against Sri Lanka at home earlier this year, but was not selected for the subsequent Asia Cup and ICC World Twenty20.
Pace bowler Taskin impressed in his Twenty20 debut against Australia in the World Twenty20 in Bangladesh, picking up a wicket for 24 runs.
“We have kept more or less a settled squad but it is also important to get an idea about the kind of back-up we have in our hands as we start preparing for the ICC World Cup in Australia-New Zealand next year,” said chief selector Faruque Ahmed.
“Mithun has been under our radar for a while. He has performed consistently in the limited overs format and in the longer version and deserves a chance at international level.
“Taskin is an exciting prospect and has already played a Twenty20 international. We thought it was a good opportunity to see how he performs in the 50 overs game in home conditions against some quality batsmen,” said Ahmed.
Opening batsman Tamim Iqbal, who missed Bangladesh’s last one-day competition, Asia Cup, also returned to the side.

Squad: Mushfiqur Rahim (Capt), Tamim Iqbal, Anamul Haque, Shamsur Rahman, Mominul Haque, Shakib Al Hasan, Nasir Hossain, Mohammad Mahmudullah, Mohammad Mithun, Abdur Razzak, Mashrafe Mortaza, Sohag Gazi, Ziaur Rahman, Al-Amin Hossain and Taskin Ahmed.