Shoaib Malik, Kamran dropped from central contracts

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LAHORE: Pakistan on Monday dropped under-scrutiny former captain Shoaib Malik, wicket-keeper batsman Kamran Akmal and leg-spinner Danish Kaneria from the list of players awarded contracts.

The six-month contracts for 23 players from June to December this year, were not accompanied by pay rises.

Malik, 28, Kamran, 29 and Kaneria, 30 were not considered for central contracts because they have not been cleared of match fixing, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) director Intikhab Alam told a press conference.

"As long as Malik and Kaneria are not cleared by the PCB integrity committee, a meeting of which is scheduled for August 15, they will not be considered for the contracts," said Intikhab.

Malik and Kaneria have been summoned to appear before the committee. Intikhab said Kamran's fitness and performance were below par. He was in 'A' category in the last contracts.

Veteran batsman Mohammad Yousuf, dropped from the 2011 World Cup squad for poor form, also lost out on a central contract this year.

All-rounder Shahid Afridi was also missing from the list after announcing his retirement from international cricket to protest against being dumped as one-day captain two months ago.

Intikhab Alam said players were placed in three categories based on their seniority, fitness, discipline and performance.

Captain Misbah-ul-Haq, Younis Khan, Mohammad Hafeez, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal and Adur Rehman were placed in the 'A' category and will receive a monthly salary of 250,000 rupees ($2,900).

Hafeez, Ajmal and Rehman had been ranked in the 'B' category for contracts awarded from Januray to June 2011.

Abdul Razzaq, Imran Farhat, Sohail Tanveer, Umar Akmal, Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Wahab Riaz and Taufiq Umar were in the latest 'B' category and will receive 175,000 rupees ($2,024) a month.

Paceman Junaid Khan, Tanvir Ahmed, Hammad Azam, Sarfraz Ahmed, Sohail Khan,
Adnan Akmal, Yasir Shah, Rameez Raja and Sharjeel Khan were given 'C' category status and salaries of 100,000 rupees (1,156 dollars).