It was in May of last year that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced its central contracts. However, they have made some changes to it. The impressive wicket-keeper batsman Mohammad Rizwan who has been on a roll in Test cricket and T20Is, has been upgraded to the highest bracket (Category A). He joins skipper Babar Azam, Azhar Ali and Shaheen Afridi in the top-most bracket of the PCB’s central contract list for the 2020-21 season.
He was in the Category B central contract list before but from the time the contracts were released in May 2020, Rizwan is leading the run charts in Tests and T20Is for Pakistan. The 28-year-old has scored 529 runs at an average of 52.90 in Test cricket, and in T20Is he has made 325 runs in seven innings at an average of 65.00. Moreover, he led the Pakistan Test side in New Zealand when Babar Azam was injured. Thus, the PCB has rewarded him for his consistency and hard work.
Meanwhile, Fawad Alam has been super impressive as well. He returned to the Test format in August of last year and in six Test matches since then, he has amassed 320 runs which includes a couple of hundreds in tough conditions. He was rewarded with a Category C central contract.
The decision to promote the players was made during a meeting with the chair of the selection committee, Mohammad Wasim, while we were reviewing player performances in the 2020-21 season and discussing the upcoming commitments. It was agreed during the meeting that three players were the most deserving and outstanding performers in the season to date and, as such, they needed to be rewarded now instead of waiting for the time when PCB Central Contract List for 2021-22 will be reviewed and announced,
the PCB chief executive Wasim Khan was quoted saying in a statement.
Meanwhile, veteran Mohammad Hafeez, who has turned into a T20I specialist, was without a central contract for a couple of years. He was offered a Category C central contract, but he has ‘politely declined’ it. Hafeez has become one of the vital cogs in the Pakistan batting line-up in T20Is and has been performing consistently, but he did not accept the offer.
However, Mohammad Hafeez declined the reward and, while I am disappointed, I fully respect his decision. He wants to wait for the PCB central contract 2021-22 list, which he is fully entitled to. Hafeez has been one of our star performers of the season and we hope he will carry the form and momentum to Africa. I am sure this merit and performance-based decision will once again send out a loud and clear message to all professional cricketers that the PCB will not only recognise, appreciate and acknowledge their performances and achievements, but will also reward them so that they can strive to do better next time,
Wasim Khan further added.
The PCB have also added a new category called Emerging Players, where Haider Ali, Mohammad Hasnain and Haris Rauf are the three players named. These central contracts are valid to June 30, 2021.
Updated PCB Central Contract List for 2020-21
Category A – Azhar Ali (Central Punjab), Babar Azam (Central Punjab), Mohammad Rizwan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) and Shaheen Shah Afridi (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa).
Category B – Abid Ali (Central Punjab), Asad Shafiq (Sindh), Haris Sohail (Balochistan), Mohammad Abbas (Southern Punjab), Sarfaraz Ahmed (Sindh), Shadab Khan (Northern), Shan Masood (Southern Punjab) and Yasir Shah (Balochistan).
Category C – Fakhar Zaman (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Fawad Alam (Sindh), Iftikhar Ahmed (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Imad Wasim (Northern), Imam-ul-Haq (Balochistan), Naseem Shah (Central Punjab) and Usman Shinwari (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa).
Emerging Players’ Category – Haider Ali (Northern), Haris Rauf (Northern), and Mohammad Hasnain (Sindh).
