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Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)’s decision to reform the category for the central contracts has gained significant attention from the cricket fraternity. Amid the team’s recent downfall in the ICC tournaments and in recent bilateral performances across the formats, PCB has made the changes.
It is a significant move by the cricket board as there is no A category in their central contract system. ‘B’ is the highest rank in Pakistan cricket after the introduction of the latest system. Why has the board removed the A category from the players’ central contracts?
Why is there no A-Category in Pakistan cricket's central contract system?
During an exclusive interview with ARY News, the former international cricketer, now serving as the interim head coach for the men's national cricket team, explains why PCB has removed the A category from the contract system.
The coach boldly claims that as of now, there is no A category because none of the players from the present cricketers deserve to be there. He did not mention any cricketer’s name, but it is clear from his statement and from his body language during the interview that the board and he himself are absolutely not happy with the performances in the recent past.
Aaqib Javed said no one deserves to be in the A category
While the former cricketer was criticizing the players, the anchor of the new channel asked whether the new contract system, which has no A category, could portray a negative image about Pakistan cricket globally.
Aaqib Javed then replied that they did, based on the performances the team displayed in the recent past. If the team performs well, then the whole world will see that. He does not think that a central category system without mentioning top talents will have any negative impact on the reputation of Pakistan cricket.
“In our first central contract, we did one thing. There is no A for anyone because your performances are not like that. Then you have to think about it,” Aaqib Javed said.
He also mentioned that a central category without Category A is a value-for-money move made by the board. Aaqib Javed clarified that they did not decide to remove the top category with any specific purpose; they did it based on the performance of the players.
How will the latest central contract system help?
He also highlighted that players, on an individual basis, know how they perform and how the others perform as well. There could be a tussle between the players within the team if a cricketer, who deserved to be in the A category, found himself in B.
“If there is no A, there is value for money, right? Your performance reflects through your results. We didn't make this up on purpose. Those who are in B, they say, why is this A? Because it was happening that your T20 performance, one-day performance, test match performance- everyone is playing. And you've been playing all year," Aaqib Javed said in defence of the board's decision.
