ISLAMABAD:Two senior players, Mohammad Rizwan and former skipper Babar Azam, who were previously in Category A, have been shifted to Category B in the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) central contracts for the 2025–26 season. Shan Masood, earlier in Category B, now finds himself in Category D.The PCB announced on Tuesday that as many as 30 players have been awarded central contracts effective from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026. The roster sees ten players each placed in Categories B, C and D, with no player selected for Category A this year.
Compared to last year’s 27 contracted players, the Board has expanded the pool to 30, including 12 fresh additions — Ahmed Daniyal, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Mirza and Sufyan Moqim.
Five players have been promoted owing to their performances over the past year: Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha and Shadab Khan, all moving from Category C to B.Nine players have retained their contracts in the same categories, including Abdullah Shafique, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Noman Ali, Sajid Khan, Saud Shakeel and Shaheen Shah Afridi.
Eight players have missed out this year. Aamir Jamal, Haseebullah, Kamran Ghulam, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Huraira, Muhammad Irfan Khan and Usman Khan — all previously in Category D — have not been offered contracts.The final list for 2025–26 places Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Rizwan, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shadab Khan and Shaheen Shah Afridi in Category B.
Category C includes Abdullah Shafique, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Sahibzada Farhan, Sajid Khan and Saud Shakeel. Category D comprises Ahmed Daniyal, Hussain Talat, Khurram Shahzad, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Salman Mirza, Shan Masood and Sufyan Moqim.
The post Rizwan, Babar drop from Category A as PCB unveils central contracts appeared first on Daily The Patriot.
