Pak cricketers get significant raise

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Monday gave central contract to 33 national cricketers in five categories, from A to E, as part of its three-year financial formula.

The A and B categories have six players each, C nine, D five and E seven. The three-year financial remuneration agreement on which the central contract is based was finalised after talks with two senior players of the team.

PCB’s announced Centrally Contracted Players list is for the 2018-19 season. The Central Contracts Selection Committee comprising Director Cricket Operations Haroon Rashid, National Chief Selector Inzamam Ul Haq and Director Academies Mudassar Nazar had recommended the names of the players and Chairman PCB  Najam Sethi approved the players listed in different categories.

In the new central contracts PCB has raised the monthly remuneration for each of its categories by up to 30 percent, and has also increased its players match fees by 20 percent across all categories.

An agreed percentage increase will also be given to the players in years two and three of the new agreement.The 2017-18 Financial Year marked the conclusion of a three-year financial formula.

The category ‘E’ has been introduced to “recognise performers on the domestic circuit as well as to encourage the continuing development of emerging cricketers from the junior cricket level”.

Babar Azam, who was in category B last year, has been promoted to the top bracket, while Mohammad Hafeez, who didn’t feature in any of Pakistan’s five ODIs against Zimbabwe despite being part of a much-rotated squad, drops down to category B. Azhar Ali, Shoaib Malik, Sarfraz Ahmed, Yasir Shah and Mohammad Amir retain their places as category A players.

Most of Pakistan’s young players find themselves in category B. Fakhar Zaman and Shadab Khan were both promoted from category C, while Faheem Ashraf jumped two places, getting into category B after being in the category D list last year. Hasan Ali retained his category B slot, with Asad Shafiq and Hafeez rounding off the category for 2018.

Three players who were in category C the previous year were omitted from the centrally-contracted list of players. The biggest casualty was Ahmed Shehzad, who is currently suspended for a doping violation and awaits a hearing.

Sami Aslam, who found his Test place usurped by Imam-ul-Haq in Ireland and England earlier this year, is also out. The same fate befell Sohail Khan.Mohammad Rizwan, who was named in category D last year as Sarfraz’s deputy behind the stumps, drops down to the newly-introduced category E. He is the only wicketkeeper in the list of 33 players besides the captain. It serves to reinforce Pakistan’s lack of options in that department; Sarfraz has played every single Pakistan game in all formats since being rested for the limited-overs leg of Pakistan’s tour of Australia over 18 months ago.

Category A: Azhar Ali, Shoaib Malik, Sarfraz Ahmed, Yasir Shah, Babar Azam, Mohammad Amir

Category B: Muhammad Hafeez, Faheem Ashraf, Asad Shafiq, Hasan Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Shadab Khan

Category C: Muhammad Abbas, Wahab Riaz, Junaid Khan, Haris Sohail, Imamul Haq, Muhammad Nawaz, Usman Khan Shinwari, Shaan Masood, Imad Wasim

Category D: Rumman Raees, Asif Ali, Rahat Ali, Usman Salahuddin, Hussain Talat

Category E: Bilal Asif, Saad Ali, Muhammad Rizwan, Shaheen Afridi, Sahibzada Farhan, Umaid Asif, Mir Hamza