The revised central contracts for the Pakistan men's cricket team have been announced, nearly four months after they were due.
Shan Masood, who captained Pakistan's Test side to their first series win since July 2023 this week, keeps his spot in Category B. Whether he lasts the full year in that position, though, is uncertain, with a media release from the PCB stating his retention in the category was "subject to captaincy". There has been fevered speculation over how long he would keep the Test reins when Pakistan lost his first six Tests in charge. But the PCB going public in spelling out the contingency in his central contract a day after Pakistan's comeback series win over England is unlikely to have a stabilising effect.
Babar Azam retains his position in the highest category despite missing the last two Test matches against England after a run of poor form, while Shaheen Afridi drops down to the second tier, leaving Mohammad Rizwan as the only other A category player.
Fakhar Zaman, meanwhile, misses out on a central contract for the first time in eight years. There were reported to be concerns over his fitness, though his relationship with the PCB has deteriorated of late.
The board issued him a show-cause notice after a tweet he put out two weeks ago where he criticised the decision to drop Babar Azam. The post remains up, and Fakhar has not apologised, with the matter understood to be with his legal team. Last month, when chairman Mohsin Naqvi organised a "connection camp" to speak to get senior players to air their views, Fakhar was among the most outspoken, singling out a senior official for particularly trenchant criticism.
His long-time ODI opening partner Imam-ul-Haq also misses out on a central contract while there's been category deflation across the board. Just five players of 25 are in the A or B categories as opposed to 11 last year. Sajid Khan and Noman Ali, who didn't feature last year, have made a comeback off the back of their recent heroics against England, both placed in the C category, with Noman's inclusion subject to fitness. Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Hurraira, Usman Khan and Irfan Khan have all been given their maiden central contracts, all finding a spot in the D category.
Last year the PCB agreed landmark three-year deals on central contracts, giving players their highest pay raises in history, and, more notably, a fixed share of revenue from the PCB's earnings at the ICC. The board has stuck to the same arrangement this time, only tweaking which categories particular players are placed in, as was previously agreed. The contracts will be backdated to cover the period starting July 1, 2024, running for another 12 months before a revision can be made.
Category A (2): Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan
Category B (3): Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood
Category C (9): Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel, Shadab Khan
Category D (11): Aamir Jamal, Haseebullah, Kamran Ghulam, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Hurraira, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Usman Khan