PCB central contracts: Men's cricket team likely to see increase in retainers

LAHORE: Pakistan men's national side is expected to see a 25% to 35% increase in retainers and match fees in the new central contracts for the 2023-24 season.

The team is likely to receive new contracts next week.

While the contracts expired on June 30, they were extended for a month due to uncertainty regarding chairmanship in the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

According to sources, PCB Cricket Committee Chairman Misbah-ul-Haq will be briefed about the central contracts in the coming days.

After PCB Management Committee Chairman Zaka Ashraf approves the central contracts, they will be given to the players.

PCB Head of International Cricket, Usman Wahla, and Chief Operating Officer (COO), Salman Naseer, also met the Pakistan cricket team captain, Babar Azam, and other senior players to discuss the central contracts during the recently-concluded Test tour of Sri Lanka.

Moreover, it is likely that the policy for issuing No Objection Certificates (NOC) for league cricket will also be revised in the contracts.

PCB men's central contracts list for 2022-23

RED AND WHITE-BALL CONTRACTS (5):

Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Shaheen Shah Afridi (all Category A), Hasan Ali (red-ball Category B, white-ball Category C) and Imam-ul-Haq (red-ball Category C, white-ball Category B)

RED BALL CONTRACTS (10):

Category A – Azhar Ali

Category B – Fawad Alam

Category C – Abdullah Shafique, Naseem Shah and Nauman Ali

Category D – Abid Ali, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Saud Shakeel, Shan Masood and Yasir Shah

WHITE-BALL CONTRACTS (11):

Category A – Fakhar Zaman and Shadab Khan

Category B – Haris Rauf

Category C – Mohammad Nawaz

Category D - Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Shahnawaz Dahani, Usman Qadir and Zahid Mehmood

EMERGING CONTRACTS (7):

Ali Usman (Southern Punjab), Haseebullah (Balochistan), Kamran Ghulam (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Mohammad Haris (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Mohammad Huraira (Northern), Qasim Akram (Central Punjab) and Salman Ali Agha (Southern Punjab).