PCB Announces Central Contract List For Pakistan Men's Cricket Team For 2021/22 Season

Pakistan Cricket Board, on Friday, announced the central contract list for men’s cricketers for the 2021/22 season following the approval of the fiscal budget by the governing board.

The 12-month contract list which will run from July 01, 2021, to June 30, 2022, has been prepared by a panel consisting of Director, International Cricket, Zakir Khan, Director, High Performance, Zakir Khan, and chief selector Muhammad Wasim, in consultation with captain Babar Azam and head coach Misbah-ul-Haq.

The contract list, which has been trimmed from 21 to 20 players, sees Mohammad Rizwan and Hasan Ali being promoted to category A. Imran Butt, Shahnawaz Dahani and Usman Qadir have been offered Emerging Category Contract.

There is a 25 percent increase in Category A to C retainers while Emerging Contract retainers have been increased by 15 percent.

Updated revisions in the central contract list-

• 25 percent increase in Category A retainer; no increase in Test, ODI, and T20I match fee.
• 25 percent increase in Category B retainer; 15 percent increase in Test match fee, ODI and T20I match fee increased by 20 and 25 percent respectively.
• 25 percent increase in Category C retainer; 34 percent increase in Test match fee, 50 and 67 percent increase in ODI and T20I match fee respectively.
• 25 percent increase in Emerging Category retainer; 34 percent increase in Test match fee, 50 and 67 perce increase in ODI and T20I match fee respectively.

While Hasan Ali and Mohammad Rizwan have been rewarded for their consistent performances during the 2020/21 season after being offered a Category A contract, the same is the case with Faheem Ashraf, Fawad Alam, who has been offered Category B contracts.

Mohammad Nawaz and Nauman Ali have been offered Category C contracts while the likes of Haris Rauf and Mohammad Hasnain, who were in the Emerging Cricketer List last year have been promoted to Category C.

Former captain Sarfaraz Ahmed is also placed in Category C.

Players who have missed out on the central contract include Haris Sohail, Haider Ali, Imad Wasim, Asad Shafiq, Naseem Shah, Shan Masood, and Usman Shinwari.

Here’s what PCB Chief Executive Wasim Khan said-

”Selecting 20 players amongst a big pool of quality cricketers is always a challenging task. I would like to thank the panel for their diligent work in selecting the 2021-22 central contract list against agreed criteria,”

“In the new list, 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,”

“Emerging Category recognizes and rewards the up and coming talent. We have seen the emergence of Haris Rauf and Mohammad Hasnain move from an Emerging Category to Category C, and the likes of Imran Butt, Shahnawaz Dahani, and Usman Qadir breaking into the Emerging Category. The Emerging Category remains a platform for young players to break into the central contract system,”

“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,”

“Despite the challenging economic climate, we as the Pakistan Cricket Board believe that it is important to continue to show advancement in the value of central contracts. In the last two years, we have seen significant progress in central contract payments and we will remain committed to the principle of improving the value of contracts year on year.”

Pakistan Men’s Cricket Team central contract list for season 2021/22-

Category A– Babar Azam, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Rizwan, Shaheen Shah Afridi

Category B- Azhar Ali, Fawad Alam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Shadab Khan, Yasir Shah

Category C- Abid Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Nauman Ali, Sarfaraz Ahmed.

Emerging Category– Imran Butt, Shahnawaz Dahani, Usman Qadir

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