PCB handed out 'loyalty bonus' to discarded Akhtar last year

Axed from the team due to a string of disciplinary transgressions, mercurial pacer Shoaib Akhtar was surprisingly paid a six million rupees "loyalty bonus" by the PCB last year, an audit report has revealed.

Axed from the team due to a string of disciplinary transgressions, mercurial pacer Shoaib Akhtar was surprisingly paid a six million rupees "loyalty bonus" by the PCB last year, an audit report has revealed.

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After being sent home from the Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa for hitting fellow pacer Mohd Asif during a training session, Akhtar was apparently paid the bonus as he was a centrally-contracted player.

According to the report compiled by the Auditor-General of Pakistan's office, millions were paid to some other players as well by former PCB Chairman Nasim Ashraf without even seeking approval of the governing council.

The auditor general's office has described this method of giving out payments without approval as gross mismanagement of financial affairs.

The audit report says same loyalty bonus amount was paid out to other contracted players including top stars like Shoaib Malik and Younis Khan.

The board in 2007 and 2008 twice gave out special bonuses to the players for reaching the final of the Twenty20 World Cup and winning the Kitply Cup in Dhaka early last year.