Pakistan Cricket Board Chief Operating Officer Wasim Bari speaking to PakPassion.net spelt out the guidelines on which the recent award of central contracts were decided.

By: Saj Sadiq

21 March 2010

Pakistan Cricket Board Chief Operating Officer Wasim Bari speaking to PakPassion.net spelt out the guidelines on which the recent award of central contracts were decided.

Bari stated that a number of factors were taken into consideration before the 37 names were announced and these factors also played a vital role in the category of contract awarded to each of the named players.

"The main factors behind the awarding of central contracts were a player's performance in 2009, their expected role in the squad/team in 2010, a player's attitude and disciplinary record and how senior a player is".

Bari, a former chief selector also clarified who were the main decision makers behind the process. "The main contributor is Mohsin Khan, the Chief Selector who obviously is new to the role so he will have taken on board input from his predecessor, Iqbal Qasim. Mohsin, Zakir Khan and I then got together and looked at Mohsin's recommendations and following discussions we finalised the list of names".

Bari also clarified the issue of Category B contracts to two of Pakistan's most promising youngsters, Umar Akmal and Mohammad Aamer. "Both boys have performed very well in 2009 and are no doubt the future of Pakistan cricket. They were promoted from Category C to Category B, but I feel that there are still some question marks over their maturity which need addressing before they can be considered for the top level contracts".

A number of promising Under 19 players and several consistent performers from domestic cricket were also awarded with stipend contracts and Bari explained that "the stipend contracts are incentive contracts and rewards for solid and consistent performers in the recently concluded domestic season, as well as support to some of the Under 19 boys who performed so well in the World Cup. We wanted to show the youngsters that they have our support and we are looking after them".

Responding to a question regarding the omission of Rao Iftikhar and Mohammad Sami from the list of players, Bari added "Rao only really plays one type of cricket for the national team and even that is not regular. He has not been a regular selection in any format of the game. As for Mohammad Sami, yes he also has only been selected for one format of the game and therefore missed out".

Bari who represented Pakistan on 132 occasions however stated that players from outside the contracted list would be given an equal opportunity when it came to selection. "Those boys that have not been given central contracts will be given every chance to play for the national team, there is absolutely no issue of only contracted players being selected for the coming season. If anyone performs well from outside the 37, then they will be given every opportunity to play for Pakistan.

Bari commenting on the recent severe punishments issued to seven Pakistani cricketers stated "the committee was thorough in its investigation, there was documentary evidence, there were reports, there was evidence presented in the shape of media articles both electronic and written. All of the statements given by all of the individuals that appeared before the committee was videod and then a decision was made. The appeals process is in place and the players may appeal if they feel they want to, but as I said all of the evidence was very conclusive".

Bari feels that it's high time that the Pakistani cricketers focussed on what they are paid to do, and that is to play cricket. "The players are paid well, they are paid to play cricket. They are not paid to issue daily statements in the press regarding each other. They are not paid to give opinions about each other to the television networks or any other media. If they have any issues, then those issues should be discussed in a professional and confidential manner with the relevant parties, not in front of the glare of the world's media".