Asif Iqbal lends support to players' pay-hike demand

Lahore, May 30 (UNI) Former captain Asif Iqbal threw his weight behind the Pakistani players' demand for a pay hike and warned that the issue can snowball into a major crisis if the cricket board fails to address it.

In his coluumn for ''The News'', the former Pakistan and Kent captain said though the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) claimed that there was no dispute with the players on the issue, ''one can sense a subterranean rumble which could well escalate into something much louder if the matter is not addressed with equity and justice.'' He said cricket has become a huge industry and hence the players' salary should be compared with what their predecessors received in the fifties, sixties and seventies.

''With revenues having skyrocketed, there is no reason why earnings of the players should not be expected to keep pace...a player has a limited career and it is but natural for him to seek to make as much as he can while he is there at the top,'' he argued.

Explaining a player's midset, he said, ''A place at the top is by no means guaranteed and a couple of bad umpiring decisions could mean the end of a career at that level...'' He said demands of a pay hike was fair in light of ambush marketing, where players lose lucrative deals, and the ever increasing income of the cricket board.

Referring to the salary of the support staff, Asif said Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer gets around Rs 800,000 a month, bowling coach Waqar Younis is paid Rs 500,000 per month while the newly appointed Director of the National Cricket Academy, Mudassar Nazar, gets Rs 300,000 per month.

''The argument is not that these people do not deserve such salaries, but that their contribution has to be seen against that of the players,'' he said.

He was also critical of the officials having a share of the bonus announced when the team does well.

''...officials getting a share of bonuses must be particularly galling for the players since the bonuses are purely performance related and officials, specially administrative officials, cannot possibly claim to have any hand in furthering such performances.'' He said Pakistani players had not rebelled against the PCB but merely requested for a hike.

''But if reasonable demands are not given the sympathy they deserve, things do have a tendency of turning ugly, although one hopes that that eventuality does not materialise,'' Asif added.

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