Major Setback for Shaheen Afridi in PCB Central Contracts; Babar Azam Retains Top Spot
The PCB awarded central contracts to a total of 25 players, just two short of the 27 contracts given last year. This year's announcement came after a delay of nearly three months as the board evaluated player performances, fitness levels, and behavior.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced on Sunday that premier pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi has been demoted from Category A to Category B for the 2024-25 central contracts. In a significant move, senior players Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, and Osama Mir were not offered contracts at all for the upcoming season. Test captain Shan Masood also remained in Category B, despite Pakistanโs recent 2-1 series victory over England.
The PCB awarded central contracts to a total of 25 players, just two short of the 27 contracts given last year. This year’s announcement came after a delay of nearly three months as the board evaluated player performances, fitness levels, and behavior.
In a bid to incentivize and reward young talent, five players have received central contracts for the first time, placed in Category D. These players are Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Ali, Muhammad Irfan Khan, and Usman Khan.
Notably, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan are the only players awarded Category A contracts, with Babar set to be announced as the captain for Pakistanโs white-ball formats.
List of Centrally Contracted Players:
- 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
