The PCB have announced central contracts for the Pakistan men's team, awarding five contracts to emerging cricketers in a 25-player pool.
Last year, the board had confirmed three-year central contacts with senior players, slated to run from July 1 2023 to June 30, 2026. In the new contracts, effective from July 1, 2024 and announced a day after Pakistan's Test series win over England, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan retain their Category A benefits. Shaheen Shah Afridi has been demoted to category B.
Additionally, for the first time, five emerging players have been awarded a central contract: Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Ali, Muhammad Irfan Khan and Usman Khan.
A host of senior players haven't earned annual central contracts, including Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed and Sarfaraz Ahmed.
PCB's central contracts for 2024/25
Category A (2): Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan
Category B (3): Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Shan Masood
Category C (9): Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel and 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 and Usman Khan
