New Central Contracts

While I criticized the great Dr. Nasim Ashraf many times, and often incessantly, I am not so sure about the new setup either. While all the usual shenanigans of Pakistani administration are playing out in the PCB, what is really confusing is the way that the whole central contracts debacle is playing out (what else can you call it!) First, the highest level central contract is offered to Shoaib Akhtar, who hasnt played any real cricket the entire year, has just recently come of having assaulted a team mate, and in no way has been a "model citizen" of the Pakistani cricket community.

So while one can seriously wonder what Shoaib Akhtar has done to receive the highest category in the central contracts, what is even more amazing is what happened with Abdur Rauf! After he complained about not getting a contract, it appears that the next day Abdul Qadir and Ijaz Butt decided to say there there little one, and handed him a central contract!

There are many a quibble that can be made with how players have been categorized within the central contract scheme, but it is this adhocism which was and continues to be a problem. I guess it was too much to ask for the current setup to display some degree of professionalism.