Pakistan Stars Left Red-Faced As PCB Takes Drastic 'Central Contract' Step

NDTV

a day ago

Not a single Pakistan cricket team player was awarded the prestigious Category A contract by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for the 2025-26 season. Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan - two players who were in Category A last season - were demoted to Category B. The decision came just days after the two cricketers were not included in the squad for Asia Cup 2025. Pakistan's Test captain Shan Masood, who was in Category B last season, was demoted to Category D while Fakhar Zaman, who missed out on a central contract in 2024, was included in Category B.
According to a report by ESPN Cricinfo, the decision to not include any player in Category A was taken after considering their performances. Sources close to the development said that the performances "did not lend favour to any player deserving a category A contract".
The PCB pointed out the fact that the duo were demoted from the highest band.
"Notably, no player has been selected for Category A in this cycle," the statement said.
Abrar Ahmed, Saim Ayub, Haris Rauf, Salman Ali Agha and Shadab Khan were all promoted to Category B. Meanwhile, Sufiyan Muqim, Hasan Nawaz and Mohammad Haris did not have a central contract last year and were awarded a new one.
Aamir Jamal, Kamran Ghulam, Mir Hamza, Irfan Khan Niazi and Usman Khan were dropped.
Category B: Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Rizwan, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi.
Category C: Abdullah Shafique, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Sahibzada Farhan, Sajid Khan, Saud Shakeel.