May 08, 2007	Tuesday	Rabi-us-Sani 20, 1428

LAHORE, May 7: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Monday named fast bowler Mohammad Asif as the new vice captain in place of Younis Khan while setting a deadline of July 1 for the appointment of new team coach.

"The PCB ad hoc committee has unanimously approved the name of Mohammad Asif as vice captain only for the three-match series in Abu Dhabi and the new coach will also be decided by July 1," PCB chairman Dr Nasim Ashraf said after a three-hour long ad hoc committee meeting here on Monday.

"Asif was considered for the post as he holds permanent place in the team and has played a key role in bringing the laurels for the country," the chairman said.

Asif and fellow pacer Shoaib Akhtar had made headlines last year in October after they tested positive for banned substance Nandrolone and missed out the ICC Champions Trophy in India in 2006 the World Cup in the West Indies.

The chairman said some international coaches from the West Indies and England had responded to the advertised posted of the coach on PCB’s website.

"We will wait till May 15 for more coaches to file for the job before taking a final decision to appoint the next coach," he said.

Asked if any of the well-known coaches were among the applicants for the post, the chairman said some international names were indeed included in the list.

However, sources told Dawn that only 12 coaches - all relatively unknown players or officials - had applied so far for the coveted job.

The chairman also made light of the statement from a few senior cricketers who apparently felt insulted in approaching for the post through website. "We made the post public, giving open chance to every one to come forward as coach, but instead of appreciating us some cricketers have criticised the PCB," he observed.

Dr Ashraf was obviously referring to former Pakistan captains Intikhab Alam and Javed Miandad who last week had lashed out at the board for advertising the post through its website. They were of the view that like Indian cricket board, the PCB should have formed a technical committee to select the coach.

"The PCB also has a technical committee which will assess the CVs of the coaches, therefore there is no difference between the PCB and BCCI's policies," the chairman contended.

"Director National Cricket Academy Mudassar Nazar, Director Cricket Operations Zakir Khan and a member of the ad hoc committee, former great Imtiaz Ahmed will choose the best coach from the applicants," he said.

About the new central contract for the players, the chairman said it would be a performance-based one and not on seniority alone. "The PCB has been examining the central contracts offered by Australia, England and India to their players and hopefully the new one will get approval in the next ad hoc committee," he said.

"The players scoring a century or taking five wickets or more will get a better package. Moreoever, in case of giving match-winning performance the individual will be rewarded with handsome packages," he said.

He said the players would be divided into A,B,C categories on the basis of their performance and not due to their seniority.

"The players will be relegated or upgraded to the three categories on their respective performances," he said.

Dr Ashraf also disclosed that the players at the domestic level would receive more money through their regions from now on. "A particular percentage of the PCB's income will be given to the regions and associations for onward subsmission to the players," the chairman said.

Commending the selectors’ efforts in recent weeks, the PCB chief said: "The selectors have done a tremendous job by analysing the performance of the boys in the training camp and they also picked a fine team for the three-match series," he said.

He added that training camps in Abbotabad, Quetta and Karachi will be set up in June and July. The chairman said that the first meeting of the central committee of the 2011 World Cup, which was to be held from May 18, had been deferred for June 18. The meeting will be held in Bhurban.