'Glaring' mistakes in PCB contract list lands Intikhab Alam in hot water

Karachi, June 18 (ANI): Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) director of International Cricket Affairs Intikhab Alam's future role in the board has become uncertain after he committed some glaring errors while finalising the list of players who were awarded central contracts and retainers.

The PCB, which released the much awaited list of central contracts in May, found itself in an embarrassing situation after the media highlighted the omissions of pace spearheads, Mohammad Sami and Mohammad Talha from the central contracts list and inclusion of the banned Bismillah Khan in the stipend category, reports the Daily Times.

"PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf was not happy with the criticism in the media about the central contracts and retainers for the year 2012. He was of the view that good deeds and positive work of the board had gone down the drain due to some major bloopers," a source said.

Initial investigation had revealed that Intikhab had kept the list secret till the last moment, the source said.

"Inquiry confirmed that Intikhab had kept the list a secret till the eleventh hour and also did not bother to have a final discussion on it with other members of the committee including chief selector, Iqbal Qasim," the source added.

"The chairman has now given the task of reviewing the list once again to former Test captain Javed Miandad. He will now review the list to see who all deserve the contracts and retainers," the source further added. (ANI)