Shoaib unlikely to get PCB's central contract for next season - India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

As the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) prepares the list of centrally contracted players for the next season, it is unlikely that controversial speedster Shoaib Akhtar would retain his contract, and chances are that he may be axed from the elite list of cricketers. A two-member committee, consisting of PCB Chief Operating Officer (COO) Wasim Bari and Director Cricket Operations Zakir Khan, will finalise the list, and insiders suggest that Akhtar is unlikely to get a central contract for the next season, The Dawn reports. Akhtar has been out of competitive cricket from a long time due to niggling injuries and other health related issues, and to retain the contract he needs to prove his form and fitness, which looks a distant dream for him as he has only one domestic tournament, the Pentangular Cup, to prove his match fitness. Once the mainstay of Pakistan's bowling line up, the PCB has completely sidelined the Rawalpindi Express, replacing him with younger fast bowlers like Mohammad Aamer and Umar Gul. With bowlers like Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Sami returning to the national squad, it has become even more harder for the Akhtar to return to the international scene.