Rizwan, Hasan Ali promoted to Category A in Pakistan’s central contract list

Hasan Ali, who was not contracted last year due to injury, has gained a place in the highest-earning Category A contract list after exceptional performance since the start of the year.

Since his comeback into the side in 2021, Hasan Ali has picked up 40 wickets in 11 matches so far across formats which include 4 five-fors and a ten-wicket haul. He remains Pakistan’s leading wicket-taker in international cricket in 2021.

Fawad Alam and Fakhar Zaman both received promotions to Category B while Azhar Ali moved down from the previous year’s Category A spot to B.

Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Hasnain, and Nauman Ali are the new faces to be handed a contract in 2021-22. However, Shan Masood, Haris Sohail, Usman Shinwari, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Abbas, Naseem Shah, Shan Masood, and Usman Shinwari have not been retained this time.

The 12-month contracts will run from 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022 with the list trimmed down from 21 to 20 which includes the three players - Imran Butt, Shahnawaz Dahani, and Usman Qadir - in the Emerging Category.

PCB Chief Executive Wasim Khan said that the door remains firmly open for players who missed out while they stay committed to improving the value of contracts year on year.

“Selecting 20 players amongst a big pool of quality cricketers is always a challenging task. I would like to thank the panel for their diligent work in selecting the 2021-22 central contract list against agreed criteria,” said Wasim Khan.

“In the new list, we have seen eight new players emerge who have now gained central contracts. Due to the competitive nature of the central contract system, nine players who had contracts in 2020-21 have sadly missed out on this occasion. The door remains firmly open for these players and they will continue to remain in the plans of the selectors.

“Emerging Category recognises and rewards the up and coming talent. We have seen the emergence of Haris Rauf and Mohammad Hasnain move from an Emerging Category to Category C, and the likes of Imran Butt, Shahnawaz Dahani and Usman Qadir breaking into the Emerging Category. The Emerging Category remains a platform for young players to break into the central contract system,” added Wasim.

“The equalisation of match fees means that all players who walk out together to represent Pakistan will receive the same match fees irrespective of which category they are in, or whether they have a central contract or not.

“Despite the challenging economic climate, we as the Pakistan Cricket Board believe that it is important to continue to show advancement in the value of central contracts. In the last two years, we have seen significant progress in central contract payments and we will remain committed to the principle of improving the value of contracts year-on-year.”

Contract List:

Category A – Babar Azam, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Shah Afridi

Category B – Azhar Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Fawad Alam, Shadab Khan and Yasir Shah

Category C – Abid Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Nauman Ali and Sarfaraz Ahmed

Emerging Category – Imran Butt, Shahnawaz Dahani and Usman Qadir