LAHORE, Feb 25: The Pakistan Cricket Board said Sunday it would give five million rupees (83,000 dollars) to each member of its World Cup squad if they win the tournament.
The 15 members of the squad will get 2.5 million rupees each if they reach the final in the Caribbean and 1.2 million rupees for getting to the semi-finals.
“We hope the team achieves the best results in the coming World Cup and as a reward each player will get a handsome cash prize and we hope the incentives encourage them,” PCB chairman Naseem Ashraf said.
The squad also met Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf in a ceremony here Saturday night and he urged them to do well, officials said.
Pakistan have won the World Cup only once, in 1992, and after that win each of the players were given costly luxury plots of land in the capital Islamabad.
President Musharraf, while praising the the team, said it was full of fine players and their talent, when applied, could be judged by the fact that they scored 351 runs in the second one-dayer in South Africa and then dismissed their rivals at a low score around 150.
“It is the same team which can perform to that level because of presence of committed players in its ranks,” he said.
Musharraf said he closely followed the matches of the Pakistan team both at home and abroad. “The whole nation is supports the team when it plays well and the blessings of millions of people are with you in the World Cup.”
PCB Patron expressed his faith in Inzamam-ul-Haq and the team and urged them to remain focussed throughout the tournament. “People are expecting a lot from your team in the World Cup, and as a captain there is bigger responsibility on your shoulders to inspire it to a level to produce fine performances and motivate it to blend into a winning combination,” he told the skipper.
Inzamam assured the president that collective efforts would be made to attain glory in the World Cup and said the team is united and ready to launch its campaign in the Cup and will come up to the expectations.
The president lauded the steps taken by the PCB for providing financial assistance to the former cricketers and said this step would long be remembered in cricket. “It is not just a monetary benefit being given to the former stars, it is a gesture to recognise their services,” he added. “It is the best way to honour our heroes.”
Highlighting the cricketers pension plan, the PCB chief said those cricketers who had played 20 or more Test matches before 1978 would be given a monthly pension of Rs 25,000 and those with ten test matches will receive Rs 20,000 and less than 10 test matches will get Rs 15,000.
“It is just a beginning to a noble cause and we will expand the span of this activity by involving umpires and those who had rendered services for the cause of the game,” he added.
Later, President Musharraf presented cheques to former cricketers including Imtiaz Ahmad, Waqar Ahmad, Wazir Muhammad, Mushtaq Mohammad, Muhammad Ilyas and Intikhab Alam.—AFP/APP