Less than a month before the new central contracts are put into place, differences between the Pakistan Cricket Board and the players over certain terms and conditions have come to the fore.
After a meeting held in Lahore on Friday to discuss the new format for the contracts, the Pakistan Cricket Board and captain Shoaib Malik dished out contrasting versions of the outcome.
Shafqat Nagmi, the chief operating officer of the board, told reporters that the players have agreed to the new terms and conditions of the contract, based on performance rather than seniority.
But, Malik told mediapersons, shortly after the meeting with Nagmi, that the format of the central contracts is yet to be finalised.
"They have agreed to some of our suggestions and we have accepted some of their proposals. But the contracts would be finalised after a meeting with the board chairman next week," the Pakistan skipper said.
Nagmi said the players -- including Malik, Mohammad Yousuf, Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Asif and Salman Butt -- supported the idea of having performance-based contracts apart from getting a uniform monthly retainer.
However, Malik said while the players agree that it is a good idea to reward individual performances in the new contracts, seniority should also be taken into consideration.
The board had cancelled the old contracts based on seniority and slab system after the Pakistan team was eliminated in the first round of the World Cup in the Caribbean.
The central contracts were first introduced for Pakistan players in December 2005 based on the idea of giving monthly retainers to selected players.
Nagmi, however, conceded that while the new contracts would not be based on seniority, the board would not be changing the system of paying match fees which is based on a seniority grading.
Nagmi claimed that under the new contracts, to be made effective by July 1, the players would earn far more than they used to get before.
Sources said Malik and company, who met Nagmi on behalf of all the players, had consulted former captain Inzamam-ul Haq before going into the meeting.
The board's ad-hoc committee meets in Bhurban on June 16 to discuss the new contracts and the appointment of a new coach for the national team.
