Ex-Pakistan Star's Stunning Take On Asia Cup Clash Against India: "Ek Mazaak..."
Basit Ali was not pleased with the decision taken by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to not include a single player in Category A of the central contracts.
Former Pakistan cricket team star Basit Ali was not pleased with the decision taken by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to not include a single player in Category A of the central contracts. PCB decided to demote Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam to Category B and not name anyone in the top tier. It was a strong message sent to the players as the board said that the performances in the past year was not satisfactory. However, Basit believed that Salman Ali Agha should have been named in the top category and called it a 'joke'. He added that another 'joke' will happen when Pakistan face India in the Asia Cup.
"Ek majaak abhi aur hoga jab September 14 ko India vs Pakistan match hoga. Wahaan ek majaak aur hoga.(One more joke will happen when India faces Pakistan on September 14. Another joke will unfold there)," he told Kamran Akmal on a YouTube show "Game Plan".
The PCB release doesn't mention the valuation of the contracts.
Babar and Rizwan have been penalised for their consistently poor show across all marquee events, including last year's T20 World Cup, this year's ICC Champions Trophy, and the bilaterals against Bangladesh and the West Indies.
T20 skipper Salman Ali Agha, on the other hand, has earned a promotion from group C to B.
The other notable promotions are opener Saim Ayub and pacer Haris Rauf.
Compared to last year's list of 27 contracted players, the PCB has expanded the pool to 30, including 12 fresh additions.
The new entrants are Ahmed Daniyal, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Mirza and Sufyan Moqim.
Additionally, nine players have retained their positions in the same categories.
They are Abdullah Shafique (Category C), Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Wasim Jnr – all in Category D, Noman Ali, Sajid Khan, Saud Shakeel – all in Category C and Shaheen Shah Afridi (Category B).
Eight players who have missed out on contracts this year include Aamir Jamal, Haseebullah, Kamran Ghulam, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Huraira, Muhammad Irfan Khan and Usman Khan. They were all in Category (D).
(With PTI inputs)
India Cricket Team
Pakistan Cricket Team