Lahore
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Sunday has announced the central contracts for the 2024-25 season, with a significant shakeup in the list. Premier pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi has been demoted from Category A to Category B. Notably, senior players Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, and Osama Mir have been left out of the contracts altogether.
Despite leading Pakistan to a comeback 2-1 Test series victory against England, Test captain Shan Masood remains in Category B. The PCB awarded contracts to 25 players, down from last year’s 27. The delay in the announcement, nearly three months after the contracts expired, was reportedly due to evaluating player performances, fitness, and behavior.
Two players, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, received Category A contracts, with Rizwan set to be named Pakistan’s white-ball captain. New faces in the contracts include five emerging players placed in Category D, such as Khurram Shahzad and Mohammad Abbas Afridi.
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The full list of centrally contracted players is divided into four categories:
Category A: Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan
Category B: Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Shan Masood
Category C: Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, among others
Category D: Aamir Jamal, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, and more.
