Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan set to go to war against Pakistan Cricket Board after recent reports on Central Contract List

According to reports in Pakistan Today, Pakistan cricket team players are likely to refuse central contracts if they are demoted following their early exit from the T20 World Cup 2024.

Pakistan were eliminated from the group stage of the tournament following losses to the USA and India. Pakistan was placed alongside the USA, India, Canada, and Ireland in Group A. Heavy losses to India and the USA dented their NRR and winning against Canada and Ireland was not enough for them to better their NRR, and hence they were eliminated from the group stage.

The Pakistan national cricket team faced heavy criticism after their early exit. Babar Azam was targeted for his leadership and the way he batted in the tournament. Head Coach Gary Kirsten also spoke about the atmosphere within the dressing room following Pakistan's exit, which did not give him good signs about the team.

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"There's no unity in Pakistan's team. They call it a team, but it isn't a team. They aren't supporting each other; everyone is separated, left and right. I've worked with many teams, but I've never seen such a situation," Kirsten said to Geo TV.

Meanwhile, there are concerns that the refusal of central contracts could lead to players opting to play freely without the restrictions. PCB is awaiting reports from Gary Kirsten and Wahab Riaz, based on which they will make their decisions.

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The board has delayed its decision-making process as it awaits crucial reports from the head coach and the chief selector. There are also considerations on dropping a few players following their poor performance in the mega event. A few changes are likely to be made in the central contracts as well, the report added.

Reports said that Pakistan skipper Babar Azam and wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan are expected to be demoted from Category A in their central contracts. There are also talks about forming a new category. A new committee will be formed to finalise the central contracts; however, the salaries of the players will remain unchanged.

The PCB has decided to review the central contracts after the Pakistan national team's performance. The Pakistani players have returned to the country following their early exit.

Pakistan Earns Direct Qualification For T20 World Cup 2026

The Men in Green reached the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup 2021 and played the final of the T20 World Cup 2022.

This was the third time, they faced a group-stage exit. Once again the captain and the senior players are targeted after their early exit. Mohammad Amir and Imad Wasim came out of their international retirements to play for the country but the move did not work out as expected.

Pakistan have earned direct qualification for the next T20 World Cup to be played in India and Sri Lanka. This happened due to their current rankings in the ICC T20I rankings. New Zealand placed sixth and Pakistan, placed seventh, have both earned direct qualification despite not making it to the Super 8s of the tournament.

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