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The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) recently announced its list of 20 players who have been awarded central contracts. The 20 elite cricketers have been divided into four groups - Category-A, B, C and Emerging Category.
Four players have been included in the top-most category - Category-A. Babar Azam, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Shah Afridi are part of that list.
Hasan Ali missed out on an annual contract last year due to his persistent injury issues. But the fast bowler has made a comeback and slotted straight into the top-most category.
Another feature of the new contract is that all players will receive the same match fee when they represent Pakistan, irrespective of their category. It also holds true for players who are not part of the 20-man group.
PCB chief executive Wasim Khan said in this regard:
"The equalisation 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."
Veterans such as Mohammad Hafeez and Wahab Riaz have once again been left out of the central contract system, while Imad Wasim has also failed to make the cut. Azhar Ali, who was in Category-A in 2020-21, has been downgraded to Category-B this time around.
Door remains firmly open for players who missed out on annual contracts: PCB CEO Wasim Khan
Nine players who were part of the PCB's annual contract list in 2020-21 have missed out this time around, with eight new names now being part of the 20-man group.
However, Wasim Khan has assured that the Pakistan players, who have not been named on the contract list, will continue to remain in the plans of the selectors. The PCB chief executive added:
"We have seen eight new players emerge who have now gained central contracts. Due to the competitive nature of the central contract system nine players who had contracts in 2020-21 have sadly missed out on this occasion. The door remains firmly open for these players and they will continue to remain in the plans of the selectors."
The Pakistan cricket team are currently in England preparing for their upcoming limited-overs series against the hosts, starting July 8. The Pakistan players recently played a 50-over intrasquad game, where skipper Babar Azam smashed a century.
Pakistan Men’s central contract list for 2021-22:
Category-A – Babar Azam, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Rizwan, Shaheen Shah Afridi
Category-B – Azhar Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Fawad Alam, Shadab Khan and Yasir Shah
Category-C – Abid Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Nauman Ali and Sarfaraz Ahmed
Emerging Category – Imran Butt, Shahnawaz Dahani and Usman Qadir
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