Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi set for BUMPER pay hike before ODI World Cup

Pakistan cricket team is all set for a historic pay hike as the board prepares to offer lucrative deals to players before the ODI World Cup in India. Star names like Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, and Mohammad Rizwan are in line to earn four times more than their previous salaries as the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) starts revamping its pay system. The deals will come into play in the new central contracts the board will offer and will come as a welcome addition for the players associated with the national side.

The new contract amendment will see players like Babar and Afridi earn $15,900 per month, four times more than their previous salaries. The new central contract will also see Pakistan return to the old category format, diverting away from last year’s stint of dividing players into red and white ball format. The top brass players will include Pakistan skipper Babar, Shaheen Afridi, and Rizwan, forming category A.

The Category B players will receive $10,600 per month while those in Category C and D will get a pay slip between $2650 to $5300 approximately per month. The hike has mainly got to do with the sharp depreciation of the Pakistan rupee in the last year, as well as an economy in which inflation has been spiraling out of control.

Top Pakistan players had shown discontent with the previous terms offered by then PCB boss Ramiz Raja. This led to the delayed signing of contracts with the majority of the players unhappy with the restrictions imposed to play in different multi-national leagues. The current contract terms offer players the luxury of playing in other leagues along with the Pakistan Super League (PSL). The top two category players can play in any one league other than the PSL while the lower category players can participate in more than one multi-national league.

It also thought that a new advisory board led by former skipper Misbah-ul-Haq is working on a model that could aid the players. Currently, the players are restricted to playing in one other league other than the PSL; however, this has constrained their earnings. A better plan would see players earn two to three times which could be career career-changing path for the players and their families.

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