The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has demoted star batter Babar Azam and One-Day International (ODI) captain Mohammad Rizwan from the A to the B category, as it announced central contracts for 2025-26.
The announcement comes days after both batters were left out of Pakistan’s squads for the tri-nation series and Asia Cup 2025.
This year’s list includes 30 players compared to last year’s list of 27 contracted players. The PCB has included 12 fresh additions, highlighting the emergence of promising new talent and the Board’s strategic focus on squad depth and future development.
The new entrants are Ahmed Daniyal, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Mirza and Sufyan Moqim.
Five players have been promoted owing to their performances last year. They are: Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha and Shadab Khan – all promoted from C to B category.
Additionally, nine players have retained their positions in the same categories. They are:
Abdullah Shafique (Category C), Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Wasim Jnr – all in Category D, Noman Ali, Sajid Khan, Saud Shakeel – all in Category C and Shaheen Shah Afridi (Category B).
Eight players have missed out on contracts this year. They are: Aamir Jamal, Haseebullah, Kamran Ghulam, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Huraira, Muhammad Irfan Khan and Usman Khan – all in Category (D).
List of this year’s centrally contacted players:
Category B (10 players): Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Rizwan, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shadab Khan and Shaheen Shah Afridi.
Category C (10 players): Abdullah Shafique, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Sahibzada Farhan, Sajid Khan and Saud Shakeel.
Category D (10 players): Ahmed Daniyal, Hussain Talat, Khurram Shahzad, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Salman Mirza, Shan Masood and Sufyan Moqim.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.