Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, the top two batters of the Pakistan team, were demoted to category B as the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced the men’s central contracts for the 2025-26 season.
Twelve new players were added to the central contracts list, and stars such as Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, and Shadab Khan were rewarded for their performances and promoted to Category B.
Ten players are included in Category B, and 30 players in all were awarded central contracts for the season that started on July 1, 2025.
Former captain Babar Azam, star opener Fakhar Zaman, and pace leader Shaheen Afridi are at the top of that list. Abrar, Rauf, Ayub, Ali Agha, and Shadab will join the group until at least June 30, 2026.
A further 10 players are listed in both Category C and Category D, with Pakistan opting not to include any of their stars in Category A for the next period.
Only Babar and Mohammad Rizwan were in Category A for 2024/25, with the pair dropping back to Category B for the new period.
The new entrants in the Pakistan central contracts 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.
Eight players have missed out on contracts this year: Aamir Jamal, Haseebullah, Kamran Ghulam, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Huraira, Muhammad Irfan Khan, and Usman Khan.
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
(PCB inputs)
