PCB may not renew Akhtar's contract

Beleaguered pacer Shoaib Akhtar and some non-performing senior players of the national side are expected to get the axe when the Pakistan Cricket Board announces its new central contract later this week.

PCB chairman Ejaz Butt on Thursday said that some senior cricketers would not figure in the list for new central contracts, which includes Akhtar.

"We have a special committee which is finalising the terms of the contract and list of deserving players who will be offered these new contracts," Butt said.

"I can only say this much that we will certainly try to encourage new and young players while giving out the contracts because it is time we look ahead to the future, he said.

"Shoaib (Akhtar) is not the force he once was and neither is he fit or playing any cricket. So there really is no ground for retaining him in the list of contracted players," he added.

Akhtar was placed in the 'A' category of players when the last contracts were given out and was paid 250,000 monthly retainer besides match and tour fees and other perks and bonuses.

The speedster last played for Pakistan in April last year and since then had undergone a major knee surgery which kept him away from competitive cricket.

"The main emphasis of the committee is to ensure only those players get contracts who have a future in Pakistan cricket and who deliver results consistently," he said.

Sources say that Misbah-ul-Haq might be another senior player who would be kept out of the central contract list.

Butt said youngsters who were being considered for contracts were Wahab Riaz, Muhammad Talha among others.

The committee is headed by Wasim Bari, the chief operating officer of PCB, and includes chief selector Iqbal Qasim and Zakir Khan.