Umar Akmal, Ahmed Shehzad to complain to PCB over demotion

LAHORE: Pakistan batsmen Umar Akmal and Ahmed Shehzad have decided to lodge a complaint with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) over their demotion in the central contracts announced on Thursday.

Both players were demoted to category D, the lowest level of the contracts, by the PCB. Shehzad had previously been in category B while Akmal had been in category C.

Meanwhile all-rounders Shahid Afridi and Fawad Alam, pacer Junaid Khan and off-spinner Saeed Ajmal were left out of the contracted list of players altogether.

The 36-year-old Afridi has not been selected since Pakistan's early exit from the World Twenty20 in India in April this year. The all-rounder stepped down from captaincy but expressed a wish to continue as a player.

Afridi had been in category A in last year´s contract, whereas Ajmal had been in category B last year but lost his place after his remodelled action saw him left out of the team since May last year.

Leg-spinner Yasir Shah and wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed have been awarded category A contracts.