Where did the PCB go wrong with the central contracts?
By Sarmad Iqbal
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) recently announced the central contracts for the upcoming season of international cricket and they have made some surprise changes to the list which previously had 33 players as opposed to the current 19. Here are a couple of players who had a strong claim to the contracts but were overlooked by the board.
Exclusion of fast bowler Junaid Khan has raised many eyebrows in the cricketing circles as many believe that the bowler deserved to be in the list, having performed reasonably well in the fair amount of games that he has gotten in recent times.
Moreover, the exclusion of Fawad Alam has also been discussed among fans as they wanted to see his name in the list, being the top performer at the domestic level for a couple of years now. But it seems that the PCB wants to move forward with young players who could serve Pakistan cricket for a long time and the experienced left-hander does not fit into the board's plans anyhow.
Asif Ali is arguably the only power hitter in the limited overs setup of Pakistan team, but the PCB ignored him too while awarding central contracts which also means that the board does not see him as a regular member of the side. This decision might cost the team eventually as it needs a player like him in the lower order in limited overs cricket.