Pakistan extended the central contract of suspended offspinner Saeed Ajmal until March 31, and gave Cricket World Cup-bound legspinner Yasir Shah and fast bowler Sohail Khan low-level contracts on Wednesday.

Ajmal was retained in Category A despite being suspended from international cricket since September for an illegal action. His technique will be reassessed in Chennai, India, on January 24, but he will miss the World Cup next month.

The Pakistan Cricket Board added Shah and Khan in Category D on the list of 33 contract recipients, and said new contracts will be awarded on April 1.

Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq, Younis Khan, Mohammad Hafeez, Shahid Afridi, Junaid Khan and Ajmal are in Category A, while Ahmed Shehzad, Umar Gul and Umar Akmal are in Category B.

Ajmal was unofficially tested at Loughborough University in England late last year, and specialists said he needed more time to fix his action to within the allowed 15 degrees of elbow extension. However, local media claimed on Wednesday that Ajmal privately went to Edgbaston for another test, and bowled within the allowed limits.

Geo Television said even Ajmal’s doosra, a delivery which spins away from the right-handed batsman, was cleared.

Pakistan central contracts:

Category A: Misbah-ul-Haq, Younis Khan, Mohammad Hafeez, Saeed Ajmal, Shahid Afridi, Junaid Khan; Category B: Ahmed Shehzad, Umar Akmal, Umar Gul;

Category C: Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali, Adnan Akmal, Khurram Manzoor, Nasir Jamshed, Abdul Rehman.

AB most valuable cricketer on planet, SAYS Gilchrist

Australia’s three-time World Cup winner Adam Gilchrist has heaped praise on South Africa captain AB de Villiers, describing him as the “most valuable cricketer on the planet”.

“De Villiers is the most valuable cricketer on the planet. His versatility is extraordinary and he is amazing to watch,” said Gilchrist, who is sixth in the list of leading run-getters in the history of World Cup and with 52 dismissals is the most successful wicketkeeper.

“He’s inventive … he can play a touch game or a power game. Then, he can also keep wickets. He’s also one of the best fielders in the world and recently has taken some wickets when he had a bowl. And he leads his team very well, so, I think he’s the most valuable cricketer around.

De Villiers will feature in his third Cricket World Cup. In 175 ODIs, the 30-year-old has scored 7,210 runs with 18 centuries and 42 half-centuries. (PTI)