'Central Contracts Are Still Being Negotiated': Babar Azam On PCB vs Pakistan Players Dispute

Pakistan captain Babar Azam on Tuesday confirmed that his team and support staff members have got the visas to travel to India for the upcoming ICC World Cup 2023 but the issue of their central contracts has still not been resolved.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has not paid salaries to men's team for the past four months which has led to an alleged dispute between the players and the board.

Pak players planning protest during World Cup

The players have reportedly decided not to promote sponsors' logos affiliated with the PCB and are also thinking about declining ICC's commercial promotions and activities either during the ODI World Cup.

Top players in the new contract are set to get around PKR 4.5 million but the amount will come down to PKR 2.2 to 2.3 million after taxes and deductions.

Players demands

The players are therefore, demanding a share in the PCB's revenue which they get from the ICC. The board gets around PKR 9.8 billion from the ICC's revenue-sharing model.

"The visas are here, as far as I know, so we should be good to go. As far as the (player) contracts are concerned, they still being negotiated, but we are hopeful they will work out as the PCB always has our interests at heart," Babar confirmed at the pre-daparture press conference.

Pakistan finally get visas for India

Pakistan will be coming to India for the ICC World Cup 2023 with a 33-member contingent comprising of the players, coaches and support staff members.

They will leave for Dubai early morning on Wednesday where they will transit for 8 hours before landing in Hyderabad in the evening.