PCB Announces Men’s Central Contracts 2025
Lahore (Sports Desk): The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced its new men’s central contracts for 2025, expanding the list to 30 players while making a shocking move to demote star cricketers Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan from the top tier.
In a surprising decision, the PCB has abolished Category A, which previously featured Pakistan’s top performers. Instead, players have been divided into Categories B, C, and D, with 10 players in each group.
Category B includes Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Fakhar Zaman, Shadab Khan, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Saim Ayub, and Salman Ali Agha. Category C features Abdullah Shafique, Naseem Shah, Saud Shakeel, Faheem Ashraf, Sajid Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Haris, Sahibzada Farhan, Hasan Nawaz, and Noman Ali. Category D includes Shan Masood, Hussain Talat, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Wasim Jr., Abbas Afridi, Khushdil Shah, Ahmed Daniyal, Salman Mirza, Khurram Shehzad, and Sufiyan Muqeem.
This year, 12 players have been awarded central contracts for the first time, including Ahmed Daniyal, Hasan Nawaz, Salman Mirza, and Sufiyan Muqeem. The PCB stated the restructuring aims to reward consistent performers while creating opportunities for rising talent.
The announcement comes shortly after the PCB named its 17-man squad for the Asia Cup and UAE Tri-Nation Series, where Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan were also excluded. Salman Ali Agha has been appointed captain of the side. The squad also features Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jr., Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Mirza, Shaheen Afridi, and Sufiyan Muqeem.
The absence of Babar and Rizwan marks a significant change in Pakistan’s cricketing strategy, as the selectors aim to test new combinations ahead of upcoming ICC tournaments. While many fans and analysts have questioned the demotion of Babar Azam, who remains Pakistan’s most consistent batter, others see this as a long-term transition towards building a younger team.
Cricket enthusiasts now wait to see how this new strategy unfolds in the Asia Cup 2025 and future international tournaments.
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