LAHORE: Like seasoned batsman Younis Khan, dashing young opener Ahmed Shehzad has also expressed his reservation over ‘B’ category central contract offered to him by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) last week.

Well-informed sources told Dawn that though Ahmed has reservations, the PCB believes the hard-hitting opener would sign the contract within the next couple of days. Sources said like Younis, Ahmed had also proved himself as one of the fittest players in the month-long conditioning camp and his consistent performance with the bat lately also shows the potential he possesses.

There are reports that Younis, demoted from category ‘A’ to ‘B’, is reluctant to sign the contract, but the PCB is insisting the veteran batsman has to sign the deal if he wants to be selected in the team.

Younis, a team man to the core, is playing just Test matches in which his performance has been satisfactory.

Last year (January to December 2013), he played seven Tests scoring 549 runs at a solid average of 45.75 with two centuries, including a face-saving double century against Zimbabwe. This year, he collected 285 runs at a fine average of 57.00 in the three-Test series against Sri Lanka in the UAE.

However, surprisingly, Younis, for reasons best known to the authorities concerned, is not falling under the ‘new’ ‘A’ category introduced by the PCB.

The newly introduced criterion sets four conditions for ‘A’ category players, which says: “It will be awarded to those players playing in all three formats, or if a player is a captain of the national team in any format or if a player is selected for two formats and has minimum 50 Test caps or if a player is selected for two formats and has a minimum of 200 ODIs.”

But Ahmed could be adjusted in category ‘A’ because he fulfilled the first condition of playing in all three formats. The right-handed opener’s batting record is also good.

In 2013, the period considered for awarding the central contract, Ahmed had played in all three formats producing some brilliant shows with the willow. In lone Test match he played in 2013, Ahmed scored 93 averaging 46.50. In 21 ODIs he featured in during the same period, the opener amassed 809 at a noteworthy 38.52 with two centuries. In 2013 T20s, Ahmed aggregated 347 at a nice 31.54.

Maintaining his performance with the bat this year so far, Ahmed played two Tests scoring 180, averaging 45.00 with one century. In five ODIs, he scored 228 at a healthy 45.60, cracking one century, too and similarly in four T20 matches he made 138 runs at 46.00 average with one century.

So since 2013, Ahmed has hit centuries in all the three formats. He was promoted from ‘C’ category to ‘B’.

Published in Dawn, June 10th, 2014