Pakistan announced that its cricketers on "central contracts" would get a 25% salary increase and a 35% rise in "match fees this year," according to the AFP. The hike will be "backdated to January, when the players' contracts had been up for renewal." The Pakistan Cricket Board said in a statement, "This increase will be in addition to a further 25% increase in Test match fee and 10% increase in One Day International match fee for the players" (AFP, 5/15). In Lahore, Ahad Awan reported the PCB will "also pay 50% of the outstanding dues of players" from January, while the remaining 50% will be "paid after the completion training camp currently underway in Lahore" (PAKISTAN TODAY, 5/14).
ASHRAF AUDIT: Awan reported in a separate piece an internal comprehensive audit by the PCB covering the "22-month span of former chairman Zaka Ashraf's administration has pointed to a staggering level of financial extravagance, with especially lavish spending on travel." Ashraf has "denied any irregularities and called it a smear campaign against him." Ashraf had been "dismissed earlier this year" by Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif, the PCB patron, who "also dissolved the board of governors." The main reason for that was a "slew of alleged financial irregularities and mismanagement of the board" (PAKISTAN TODAY, 5/14).
