Mohammad Hafeez the highest paid Pakistani cricketer of 2015/16

Mohammad Hafeez in action during the first Test against Egland at Lord's

Mohammad Hafeez has been named the highest paid Pakistani cricketer of 2015-16. As per the reports in the Indian Express, the all-rounder has earned 39-millions from the Pakistan Cricket Board.

Hafeez is one of the most experienced campaigners in the present Pakistani unit which had a great start to the England series with a win at Lord’s, but followed it up with a disappointing 330-run defeat at Old Trafford, Manchester.

The right-handed batsman is yet to shine in the European country and is in the search of his first half-century. Hafeez has been representing Pakistan in all the three formats for a long time having played 49 Tests, 175 ODIs and 77 T20 Internationals for the Asian giants.

The report sent to the Ministry of Inter-provisional Co-ordination for the fiscal year 2015-16 by the PCB states that it has paid 550 million rupees to 46 Pakistani cricketers as their fees and bonuses for the three different formats of the game. It was surprising to hear that big gun Shahid Afridi who only plays T20 Internationals has earned 18 million approximately, while Sarfaraz Ahmed had earned close to 33 million rupees.

It was also learnt that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is subsidising its domestic cricket to a large extent.

Apart from the above cricketers, the other top-paid players are Azhar Ali (30 million rupees), Younis Khan (24 million), Misbah-ul-Haq (24 million), Wahab Riaz (29 million), Ahmed Shehzad (28 million), Asad Shafiq (20 million), Shoaib Malik (26 million), Mohammad Irfan (15 million), Rahat Ali (17 million), Junaid Khan (13 million), Umar Akmal (18 million), Muhammad Rizwan (14 million), Zulfiqar Babar (11 million) and Anwar Ali (12 million).

Previously, few of the players have faced problems with federal taxation and revenue officials on the grounds of not disclosing their full earnings or were faulty of not paying their wealth taxes. Pakistan lost out to Australia in the quarter-finals of the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup and also failed to qualify for the semi-final of the World T20 earlier this year.

Pakistan would be hoping for a change in fortunes in the on-going Tour of England to revive their lost glory. Hafeez’s team will play 4 Tests, 5 ODIs and a lone T20. The third Test begins on 3rd August in Birmingham.