New Delhi: The Pakistan cricket board (PCB) is eager to release interim red-ball coach Azhar Mahmood but is constrained by his contract, a report in news agency PTI has claimed. Mahmood, a former Test all-rounder signed a contract with the board few months back for a period of one year, the source confirmed to the news agency.
It is further being learnt that if Azhar is released before his contract expires, the Pakistan cricket board will have to compensate him hugely with six months’ salary. PCB is paying the all-rounder a salary of approximately PKR 7.5 million per month and for six months, the amount goes up to nearly PKR 450 million (USD 160,000).
Azhar facing resistance from board
The amount will have to be paid in lumpsum so the board is waiting for the contract to expire. The report further mentions that Azhar himself is not happy with how the things are working in the board at present. The former cricketer has made several requests to be assigned with the national junior team but he has faced resistance from some unnamed insiders in the PCB.
Azhar himself is not happy with how things are working in the board, and despite requests to be assigned with the national junior team, he has faced resistance from some insiders in the PCB. ‘Which is why the PCB recently named him as interim head coach of the national red-ball team until his contract expires next year in April-May,’ the insider said.
‘The problem arose when Mike Hesson, the recently-appointed white-ball head coach made it clear he would have his own support staff and Azhar was not among his selections. This left the PCB with a major problem of how to utilise Azhar’s expertise to justify paying him such a handsome salary, as even if they wanted they couldn’t release him without the six months of compensation,’ the insider added.
(With PTI inputs)