Fast bowler Hassan Ali and keeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan have been offered the highest grade contracts in the latest list announced by the Pakistan Cricket Board for the year 2021-22.
A total of 20 players, one fewer than last year, have been given 12-month contracts that will run from July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2022, and have "equalized match fee" across all formats, meaning all players who represent Pakistan will receive the same match fees irrespective of which category they are in or whether they have a central contract or not.
There has also been a 25 percent increase in Category A to C retainers while Emerging Category retainers have been boosted by 15 percent.
Hassan Ali missed out on the central contracts list last year due to injury, while Rizwan has been promoted from Grade B to A this year. Faheem Ashraf, Fawad Alam, Mohammad Nawaz, and Nauman Ali are among the eight new faces on the list.
Nine names from the 2020-21 contracts lists have missed out on central contracts this time around- Asad Shafiq, Haris Sohail, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Abbas, Naseem Shah, Shan Masood along with Usman Shinwari, Haider Ali, and Iftikhar Ahmed.
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PCB Chief Executive Wasim Khan said: "the door remains firmly open for these players and they will continue to remain in the plans of the selectors. Selecting 20 players amongst a big pool of quality cricketers is always a challenging task. 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.”
"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," Wasim further added.
Here is the central contract list for Pakistan players for 2021-22:
Category A - Babar Azam, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Rizwan, Shaheen Shah Afridi
Category B - Azhar Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Fawad Alam, Shadab Khan and 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
(Cricbuzz inputs)
