The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Wednesday announced its list of centrally contracted players for the coming season in which Hasan Ali, Mohammad Amir and Wahab Riaz were the biggest absentees.
The PCB handed central contracts to a total of 18 players while another three were placed in Emerging Players’ category.
As expected, Babar Azam was retained in the topmost Category A, while former captain Sarfaraz Ahmed and Yasir Shah demoted to Category B. In their place, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Test captain Azhar Ali have been promoted.
Starlet Naseem Shah and all-rounder Iftikhar Ahmad (Category C) were the first-time recipients of the contracts but the biggest news was the snub of pace trio Amir, Riaz and Hasan – all three of whom have seen their utility diminish over the past year.
“The selectors have made the tough decision to leave out Amir, Hasan and Wahab but considering Hasan missed most of the season due to an injury and Amir and Wahab decided to focus on white-ball cricket, this was the right move,” said Head Coach Misbah-ul-Haq.
“However, Amir and Wahab are senior and experienced bowlers and they remain in contention as we believe they can still contribute to the Pakistan men’s cricket team and also mentor our young battery of fast bowlers.”
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