Reports: Pakistan players unhappy with PCB over delay in monthly retainers

A source closely linked to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has recently opened up on the increasing discontentment amid members of the Pakistan cricket team over a plethora of reasons. Continued delay in disbursement of the player’s monthly retainers, sponsorship share amounts, and announcement of the list of players who will get central contracts are some of the key reasons.

The players received a sizeable enhancement and other benefits from the board in the previous central contract agreement signed between the PCB and the players. As per the existing agreement, the players in the top category including Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, and Shaheen Shah Afridi are paid monthly retainers of 4.5 million rupees.

Notably, this excludes the taxes besides their share from logo sponsorships and 3% of the revenues the PCB obtains from the International Cricket Council. Meanwhile, a separate source closely affiliated to the governing body noted that salaries had been postponed due to administrative hassles and also because the PCB too had not received the entire share of revenue from multiple sources.

“For the last three months, the players are waiting for their payments and also an announcement of the central contracts list,” a source close to PCB was quoted as saying by PTI.

"The PCB is spending a lot on the complete facelift of the three stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi for the ICC Champions Trophy besides other cricket-related expenses. The dues of players would be cleared this month,” another source mentioned.

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There is growing uncertainty and unrest among some players: Source from PCB

The source also shed light on the past and present occurrences which were related to the allocation of funds, adding to the escalating level of doubt among players. According to the terms of the contract, the ICC’s share was primed to rise in the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons, reaching 2,070,000 rupees for Category A, 1,552,500 rupees for Category B, 1,035,000 rupees for Category C, and 517,500 rupees for Category D, all the figures being represented every month.

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“Last year also, the central contract announcement was delayed right until the World Cup began in India and this year, there is more delay in the announcement of contracted players. There is growing uncertainty and unrest among some players," the source concluded.