LAHORE, Jan 6: Pakistani fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar won back his central contract on Tuesday, returning to the international fold a year after a bitter row threatened to end his troubled career.

Shoaib, 33, who played just three Twenty20 Internationals last year, was among 26 players awarded annual contracts and will receive Rs250,000 a month plus match fees.

The move hands another chance to the controversial “Rawalpindi Express,” who was slapped with a five-year ban — later reduced and then suspended — after he lashed out at officials for failing to give him a contract last January.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)’s Chief Operating Officer Saleem Altaf said seniority was the main criterion in deciding the contracts.

“The central contracts were devised by coach Intikhab Alam, manager Yawar Saeed and chief selector Abdul Qadir and the main criteria was seniority of the players,” Saleem told reporters.

Shoaib was named in the top ‘A’ category with captain Shoaib Malik, vice-captain Misbahul Haq, Younis Khan, Shahid Afridi, Umar Gul, Kamran Akmal, Salman Butt and Danish Kaneria.

He missed out on a central contract last year following Pakistan’s Test and one-day series defeats in India in 2007, when he was often absent through illness and injury.

Shoaib also showed interest in acting in Bollywood movies, irritating cricket authorities.

Angered by his exclusion, Shoaib publicly criticised the PCB and was handed the ban before its reduction on appeal.The talented Shoaib has had a chequered career highlighted by his positive test for the banned steroid nandrolone in October 2006 along with fellow fast bowler Mohammad Asif.

Shoaib was banned for two years and Asif for one year, but the bans were overturned on appeal.

The PCB named uncapped batsmen Umar Amin and Azhar Ali on the list of contracted players as a reward for good performances in domestic cricket.

In the past, central contracts were only awarded to players who had been capped by Pakistan.

Saleem also said Test match fees had risen to Rs350,000. That money is paid in addition to the players’ monthly salaries.

Meanwhile, Shoaib Malik said he is ready to take the national team to the top of the world cricket rankings, after being renewed as captain for an indefinite period.

The PCB last week opted to keep the 26-year-old Malik on as captain for the foreseeable future, with PCB chairman Ijaz Butt saying there was “no reason to replace him” when his tenure expired on Dec 31.

Malik said the move had motivated him to take Pakistan to new heights.

“Ever since I took over the team, my aim has been for us to fight and play as a unit, so that remains the prime target, and I aim to take Pakistan to the top place in the world,” Malik said on Tuesday.

“I am thankful to the PCB, the PCB chairman for showing faith and confidence in me. I will always try my level best to keep the team on the winning track.”

Malik was appointed captain after Pakistan’s humiliating first-round exit from the World Cup held in the West Indies in 2007.

Since then, he has led Pakistan in only three Tests, losing two and drawing one. Pakistan did not play a single Test in 2008 after Australia postponed their tour over security fears.

Malik has led Pakistan in 33 One-day Internationals, winning 23 and losing 10.

He led Pakistan to a 3-0 win over the West Indies in their neutral venue series in Abu Dhabi in November last year — a victory that helped convince the sport’s governors to extend his captaincy.

Malik’s next assignment will be a home series with Sri Lanka who agreed to tour Pakistan after India pulled out of a planned trip in January-February this year.

The PCB said it hopes to finalise the Sri Lanka series schedule later this week. Sri Lanka are expected to play five One-day Internationals, three Tests and a Twenty20 International.

List of centrally contracted players:

Category A (Rs250,000 per month): Shoaib Malik, Misbah-ul-Haq, Younis Khan, Danish Kaneria, Salman Butt, Kamran Akmal, Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul, Shahid Afridi

Category B (Rs175,000): Yasir Hameed, Mohammad Hafeez, Sohail Tanvir, Faisal Iqbal

Category C (Rs100,000): Yasir Arafat, Abdul Rehman, Fawad Alam, Rao Iftikhar, Sohail Khan, Nasir Jamshed, Sarfraz Ahmed, Khurram Manzoor, Saeed Ajmal, Wahab Riaz, Umar Amin, Samiullah Niazi, Azhar Ali.—Agencies