Major changes expected in PCB’s centrally-contracted players’ list

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) will finalise the central contracts for players after consultation with skipper Babar Azam and other senior cricketers.

The current central contracts will expire on June 30, which is why the PCB has started working on new deals for the players for the 2023-24 season. 

According to sources, numerous changes are expected in the central contracts with promotion and demotion for many players.

The PCB is also discussing whether it should continue to award separate contracts based on white-ball and red-ball cricket.

Due to retirement, veteran batter Azhar Ali will be excluded from the centrally-contracted players list. Meanwhile, Fawad Alam, Yasir Shah, Nauman Ali, Khushdil Shah, Usman Qadir and Zahid Mehmood are also likely to lose their central contracts.

However, Iftikhar Ahmed, Saim Ayub, Ihsanullah, Usama Mir and Zaman Khan could be inducted in the list.

Sources also revealed that pacers Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah could be promoted when the new centrally-contracted players’ list is announced. 

PCB men's central contracts list for 2022-23

RED AND WHITE-BALL CONTRACTS (5):

Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Shaheen Shah Afridi (all Category A), Hasan Ali (red-ball Category B, white-ball Category C) and Imam-ul-Haq (red-ball Category C, white-ball Category B)

RED BALL CONTRACTS (10):

Category A – Azhar Ali

Category B – Fawad Alam

Category C – Abdullah Shafique, Naseem Shah and Nauman Ali

Category D – Abid Ali, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Saud Shakeel, Shan Masood and Yasir Shah

WHITE-BALL CONTRACTS (11):

Category A – Fakhar Zaman and Shadab Khan

Category B – Haris Rauf

Category C – Mohammad Nawaz

Category D - Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Shahnawaz Dahani, Usman Qadir and Zahid Mehmood

EMERGING CONTRACTS (7):

Ali Usman (Southern Punjab), Haseebullah (Balochistan), Kamran Ghulam (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Mohammad Haris (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Mohammad Huraira (Northern), Qasim Akram (Central Punjab) and Salman Ali Agha (Southern Punjab).