Pakistani vice captain Younis Khan and all rounder Shahid Afridi [Images] have been given pay raises by the country's cricket board, putting them in a group of six contracted players receiving the highest salaries.

The one-year contracts offered last month by the Pakistan Cricket Board to a total of 20 players award the elite group a monthly salary of 200,000 rupees ($3,352) on top of match and tour fees.

"Younis and Afridi have performed outstandingly since last winter and deserved this promotion," PCB Chairman Shaharyar Khan told Reuters on Wednesday.

The two join captain Inzamam-ul-Haq [Images], Yousuf Youhana, Shoaib Akhtar [Images] and Abdul Razzaq [Images] as the highest paid performers.

Younis has appeared in 37 Test matches and 118 one-day internationals, scoring three centuries in his last four Tests.

The flamboyant Afridi, who has played in 208 one-dayers and 19 Tests, scored the second fastest hundred in one-day history against India in April.

Pakistan started awarding central contracts to its players last November in a bid to maintain a close watch on their fitness levels and discourage them from playing abroad in the off-season.

Khan added that other consistent performers had also been given pay rises and new contracts, which are divided into three categories.

The second tier group receive a monthly salary of 125,000 rupees and those in the third get 75,000.

($1 = 59.6 rupees)