Former skipper Rizwan holds off on signing central contract over 'demands'

Former Pakistan white-ball captain Mohammad Rizwan has yet to sign the central contract offered by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), with sources saying he has made certain demands before agreeing to the deal.

The wicketkeeper-batter, who was replaced as ODI captain by Shaheen Afridi, was among 30 national players offered the central contracts by the PCB.

He was placed in the B category along with nine other players, including Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, and Shaheen Afridi. Notably, no player was included in the A category for the 2025–26 international season, effective from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026.

The sources privy to the development said that all other players have signed their contracts, while Rizwan has held back, reportedly due to "certain demands he made to the PCB."

However, the PCB has not accepted the demands, and there is no indication that they will be approved in the near future, the sources added.

The development came ahead of the South Africa one-day international (ODI) series set to kick off from November 3, with Rizwan named in Pakistan's 16-member squad.

He was also part of the Test side that withdrew a two-match series 1-1, scoring 126 runs in four innings at an average of 31.5.

The PCB had divided 30 players into three categories — B, C, and D — as no player had been selected for the A category.

List of centrally contacted players

Category B (9 players): Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, 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.