PCB mull over Gul contract offer

KARACHI, March 6 (Reuters) The Pakistan Cricket Board want assurances young pacer Umar Gul will not be overworked before they make a decision on a contract offer from English county side Gloucestershire for this year.

The 24-year-old Gul is Pakistan's main bowler at the World Cup, which starts in the West Indies this month, after new ball pair Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif were lost to injury.

''We have asked for assurances from the county there will be acceptable workloads for Umar as he is a valuable player for us,'' Saleem Altaf, PCB director cricket operations.

''We don't want to prevent Gul from a good contract but we have to safeguard his future as well,'' he added.

Gul has only recently recovered from a shin problem after being sent back from the tour of South Africa.

REUTERS HSB PM1633