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Former captain Wasim Akram is country's highest paid player, according to the slab system introduced by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in 1991 and revised in 1998-99.

Wasim Akram is paid Rs 68,000 per Test he plays in Pakistan and Rs 136,000 for each Test he plays abroad. For each one-day international at home, Akram gets Rs 52,500 and Rs 163,275 on away tour.

Wasim, who has played 100 Tests and 311 one-day internationals, is country's most expensive player because he is in the highest of the three slabs constituted for Tests and for one-day internationals.

According to the Test slab, the player who has played between one to 40 Tests is entitled to Rs 28,000 (per Test), plus 55 per cent tour fee. The second slab is for players having played 41 to 90 Tests who get Rs 35,000 (per Test), plus 60 per cent of the tour fee. The highest slab, in which there is only Wasim Akram, starts from 91 and onwards where a player gets Rs 40,000 (per Test), plus 70 per cent of the tour fee.

On foreign tours, additional fee is paid equal to percentage of number of matches played before the start of the tour.

Likewise in one-day internationals, there are four slabs with the beginners being in the first slab which covers players having appeared in one to 25 matches. The players in that bracket get Rs 15,000 (per match), plus 50 per cent of the tour fee.

The second category covers players with an experience of 26 to 60 matches and are paid Rs 20,000 (per match), with 55 per cent of tour fee. The third group comprise players who have played 61 to 100 games and are paid Rs 25,000 (per match), plus 60 per cent of tour fee. The last slab is from 101 matches and onwards and the players in that category get Rs 30,000 (per match), plus 75 per cent of tour fee.

On away tours, additional fee is paid equal to percentage of number of matches played before the start of the tour.

In addition to this, each player gets Rs 3,000 as daily allowance during home series and $100 as daily allowance during tours. On tours, the players get an additional weekly allowance of $100.

Besides the match fee, the players also have share in the $1.2 million logo contract between Pepsi and the PCB. A regular member of the team earns around Rs 1.5 million at the end of the year.

The players also have undisclosed lucrative individual endorsements with the manufacturers and promoters of playing equipment etc.

According to the contract between the players and the board, the cricketers are not entitled to the guarantee money the establishment gets from any series or tournament. For example, the players had no share from the $550,000 five-match series with India in Canada.

Nevertheless, the prize money earned from the series or tournament is all players and is distributed according to the number of matches played.

In case a player doesn't play a match on a tour, he still gets handsome payment. This is according to the formula devised by the PCB which is:

Fee (according to the slab) x percentage of matches (Test or one-day) played before the start of the series.

The other incentives introduced by the PCB include Rs 200,000 per century scored, Rs 200,000 for every five wickets taken in an innings and Rs 100,000 for every four wickets taken in an innings.

However, series win bonus is at the discretion of The Management.

Since it is easier for the PCB to keep a check on the payments it made to the players, it deducts 5 per cent tax at source.

Also, the PCB deducts Rs 2,500 from each match earning to maintain the players provident fund.

The player is only entitled to draw his provident fund when he writes to the PCB that he was no more an active international cricketer or has retired.

FEE SLAB

TESTS

(Tabulated under slab, fee, tour fee %age)

01-40 28,000 55 41-90 35,000 60 91-onwards 40,000 70

ONE-DAYERS

(Tabulated under slab, fee, tour fee %age)

01-25 15,000 50 26-60 20,000 55 61-100 25,000 60 101-onwards 30,000 75

CALCULATION

(for example a player who has played 100 Tests and 100 one-day internationals) Test (home): Rs 40,000 (slab) + Rs 28,000 (tour fee %age) = Rs 68,000 Test (away): Rs 68,000 (Test fee) + Rs 68,000 (percentage of number of matches played i.e. 100 Tests) = Rs 136,000 One-day (home): Rs 25,000 (slab) + Rs 40,000 (tour fee %age) = Rs 65,000 One-day (away): Rs 65,000 (match fee) + Rs 65,000 (percentage of number of matches played i.e. 100 one-dayers) = Rs 130,000

COLLATED CURRENT PLAYERS (in brackets are Tests and one-dayers)

Abdur Razzaq (12, 69), Arshad Khan (8, 48), Azhar Mahmood (19, 99), Imran Nazir (5, 29), Inzamam-ul-Haq (70, 234), Mohammad Wasim (18, 25), Moin Khan (61, 185), Mushtaq Ahmad (49, 143), Saeed Anwar (52, 213), Salim Elahi (7, 22), Saqlain Mushtaq (31, 129), Shahid Afridi (11, 120), Shoaib Akhtar (15, 41), Waqar Younis (68, 199), Wasim Akram (100, 311), Younis Khan (9, 18), Yousuf Youhana (27, 73)

© Dawn