The revised key contracts for the Pakistan men’s cricket team have been announced, almost four months after they were due.
Shan Masood, who captained Pakistan’s Test team to their first series win since July 2023 this week, retains his place in Category B. However, whether he will last the full year in that position is uncertain, with a media release from the PCB stating his retention in the category was “subject to captaincy”. There has been feverish speculation about how long he would retain the Test reins as Pakistan lost its first six Tests. But the PCB going public to clarify the contingency of his central contract a day after Pakistan’s comeback series win over England is unlikely to have a stabilizing effect.
Babar Azam retains his position in the top tier despite missing the last two Tests against England after a run of poor form, while Shaheen Afridi drops down to the second tier, leaving Mohammad Rizwan as the only other player in the A category .
Fakhar Zaman, meanwhile, misses out on a central contract for the first time in eight years. There were reported to be concerns over his fitness, although his relationship with PCB has worsened recently.
The board issued him a show-case notice following a tweet he posted two weeks ago criticizing the decision to drop Babar Azam. The post remains up and Fakhar has not apologised, with the matter understood to be with his legal team. Last month, when chairman Mohsin Naqvi organized a “liaison camp” to speak to get senior players to air their views, Fakhar was among the most outspoken, singling out a senior official for particularly sharp criticism.
His long-time ODI opening partner Imam-ul-Haq also misses out on a key contract, while there has been category deflation across the board. Only five players out of 25 are in the A or B categories, as opposed to 11 last year. Sajid Khan and Noman Ali, who did not feature last year, have made a comeback on the back of their recent heroics against England, both placed in the C category, with Noman’s inclusion subject to fitness. Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Hurraira, Usman Khan and Irfan Khan have all been given their first central contracts, all finding a place in the D category.
Last year, the PCB agreed landmark three-year deals on key contracts, giving the players their highest pay hikes in history and, more notably, a fixed share of the revenue from the PCB’s earnings at the ICC. The board has stuck to the same arrangement this time, only tweaking which categories certain players are placed in, as previously agreed. The contracts will be backdated to cover the period from 1 July 2024, running for a further 12 months before a review can be carried out.
Category A (2): Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan
Category B (3): Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood
Category C (9): Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel, Shadab Khan
Category D (11): Aamir Jamal, Haseebullah, Kamran Ghulam, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Hurraira, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Usman Khan
