Drama in Pakistan cricket continues as players reportedly face pay cut after ODI series loss in West Indies

The Pakistan cricket team has been facing a barrage of criticism after suffering their first ODI series defeat against West Indies in over three decades with a 202-run thrashing earlier this week.

Senior members of the Pakistan cricket team including Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan had pressurised the PCB to include 3 per cent of their ICC revenue share in player contracts. Reuters

The Pakistan cricket team has been facing a barrage of criticism after suffering their first ODI series loss against West Indies in 34 years, with Mohammad Rizwan’s men capitulating to a 202-run defeat after getting bundled out for a lowly 92.

Not only has the lopsided loss put seniors including 50-over captain Rizwan and Babar Azam in the spotlight, newly-appointed white-ball head coach Mike Hesson has also been targeted with some questioning his credentials.

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Babar, Rizwan and others could lose part of their wages

As if the criticism isn’t enough, there’s more trouble in store for Babar and Rizwan and others as they face a pay cut in the aftermath of Pakistan’s poor run this year. The Men in Green had, after all, crashed out of the ICC Champions Trophy earlier this year without a single win and winning just one out of three Tests this year.

According to a report on Cricket Pakistan, the Mohsin Naqvi-led Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is likely to remove the clause from the players’ central contract which includes 3 per cent of the revenue that the board gets from the International Cricket Council.

The senior players had pressurised the board to distribute 3 per cent of their earnings from the ICC among the players two years ago. And the manner in which the Pakistanis have struggled to make an impact across formats in recent months, it is likely that the board might remove the clause for good.

Pakistan have been performing relatively better in the T20I format under Salman Agha’s leadership, having won the 20-over leg of their tour of the Caribbean 2-1. Agha had been named 20-over skipper in March during the tour of New Zealand, with Pakistan winning nine and losing as many in the format since then.

The spin-bowling all-rounder will be hoping to lead Pakistan to victory in the upcoming Asia Cup, which returns to the T20 format in the UAE next month, in order to boost his chances of being named captain across formats – replacing Shan Masood and Rizwan in Tests and ODIs respectively.

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