PBCC increases central contracts amount

ISLAMABAD, Aug 10 :The Pakistan Blind Cricket Council (PBCC) has raised the amount of the central contracts to be paid to the players for a term of six months from July to December 2021.

“A total of Rs2,500 is raised on all three categories to the amount of the central contracts paid to the players,” PBCC Chairman Syed Sultan Shah told APP on Tuesday.

Sultan also said PBCC had asked the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to raise its annual budget to Rs19.2 million as to meet the games growing expenditures.

“PBCC budget was Rs17 million which was not increased since many years. However PCB has allowed us to raise the amount of central contracts and the domestic Twenty20 fee given to the players,” he said.

He said prior to this PBCC was paying Rs15,000 to Category A players while

Rs12,000 to Category B and Rs10,000 to Category C, respectively.

“Now Rs17,500 will be paid to Category A players while Rs14,500 to Category B and Rs12,500 to Category C, respectively. The domestic Twenty20 fee is also raised from Rs 500 to Rs 1,000,” he said.

Sultan said the central contracts for a term of six months from July to December 2021 would be announced in the coming days. “The central contracts to be announced in this month will be awarded to a total of 17 players,” he said.

However, Sultan said that the country’s first and only Blind Cricket Stadium which was built in Ferozpur, Lahore was still not handed over to PBCC yet. “It’s been more than five years and the cost spent on the stadium up till now was 75 million and still it’s incomplete,” he claimed.

“We have written letters to the Prime Minister Imran Khan and Punjab government in this regard. 90 percent construction work of the cricket stadium was completed but the work on the field was still in progress. If the stadium was handed over to us then we can get it completed through our sponsors. It is the first-ever cricket stadium for the visually impaired players in the world.

Sultan, who was also the President World Blind Cricket said the stadium would provide access to blind sportswomen, blind school kids and visually impaired youth in a conducive and safe environment. “A blind cricket training and coaching academy will also commence there,” he said.