In the most recent list of central contracts, which was made public by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Tuesday, current ODI captain Mohammed Rizwan and former captain Babar Azam were demoted to category ‘B’.
PCB has assigned 30 players to Categories “B,” “C,” and “D” and has not identified any cricket players who are suitable for the elite division.
“The contracts, effective from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026, reflect the Board’s continued commitment to recognising and supporting national talent. This year’s roster sees ten players each placed in Categories B, C, and D. Notably, no player has been selected for Category A in this cycle,” PCB stated in a media release.
The contracts’ valuation is not mentioned in the PCB release.
Due to their continuously subpar performances in all major tournaments, including the T20 World Cup last year, the ICC Champions Trophy this year, and the bilaterals against Bangladesh and the West Indies, Babar and Rizwan have been penalized.
Salman Ali Agha, the T20 captain, has been promoted from group C to group B.
Opener Saim Ayub and pacer Haris Rauf were the other noteworthy promotions.
The PCB has increased the pool to 30 players, including 12 new recruits, from the 27 contractual players listed last year.
Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Ahmed Daniyal, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Mirza, Sufyan Moqim, and Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Haris, and Mohammad Nawaz are the newcomers.
Nine players have maintained their spots in the same categories.
These include Noman Ali, Sajid Khan, Saud Shakeel, and Abdullah Shafique (Category C), Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, and Muhammad Wasim Jr. (Category D), and Shaheen Shah Afridi (Category B).
Aamir Jamal, Haseebullah, Kamran Ghulam, Mir Hamza, Muhammad Ali, Muhammad Huraira, Muhammad Irfan Khan, and Usman Khan are among the eight players that have not signed contracts this year. All of them belonged to Category (D).
Pakistan’s centrally-contacted players:
Category B (10 players): Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Rizwan, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shadab Khan and Shaheen Shah Afridi
Category C (10 players): Abdullah Shafique, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Sahibzada Farhan, Sajid Khan and Saud Shakeel
Category D (10 players): Ahmed Daniyal, Hussain Talat, Khurram Shahzad, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Salman Mirza, Shan Masood and Sufyan Moqim
