Picture Credit: PCB
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Friday released the Men's central contract list for 2021-22. The enhanced and performance-based list consists of the names of 20 elite men cricketers including three emerging cricketers.
Fast bowler Hasan Ali and wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan have been promoted to Category A. Hasan Ali had missed out on the contract list last year but his stellar performance in 2020-21 has earned him the Category A contract. Rizwan has been promoted from Category B to A for his consistent performance across all formats for the considered period. The two other cricketers in Category A are the national team captain Babar Azam and left-arm pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi.
Azhar Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Fawad Alam, Shadab Khan, and Yasir Shah have been awarded with the Category B contacts. Haris Rauf and Mohammad Hasnain have been promoted to Category C from the Emerging Category. Alongside them, Abid Ali, Imam-Ul-Haq, Mohammad Nawaz, Nauman Ali, and Sarfraz Ahmed have been put in the Category C. Imran Butt, Shahnawaz Sahani, and Usman Qadir have been offered the Emerging Category contracts.
Hike for players
The salient features of the central contract include a 25 per cent hike in the Category A, Category B and Category C retainer, 15 per cent increase in Emerging Category retainer, and equalization of match fees across formats. “The equalization of match fees means that all players who walk out together to represent Pakistan will receive the same match fees irrespective of which category they are in or whether they have a central contract or not, PCB Chief Executive, Wasim Khan said.
Nine cricketers have missed out on the central contracts. The names include Asad Shafiq, Haider Ali, Haris Sohail, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Abbas, Naseem Shah, Shan Masood, and Usman Shinwari. The board, however, has said that they will remain in the selectors' plan for the season ahead.