Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) confirmed 30 players for annual central contracts for the 2025-26 season while adding 12 new ones and dropping eight from the previous list. Test captain Shan Masood and stars Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan were demoted from their previous categories.
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced the annual central contracts for the 2025-26 season, including as many as 30 players across three categories, increasing the base from 27 last year. Surprisingly, none of the players were in the A category, with Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, the only ones who were in the top bracket, being demoted to Category B. Each category – B, C and D – comprised 10 players each, with 12 new entrants and eight players being dropped from the previous list.
Only one player from Category B was retained in the same grade – Shaheen Afridi – and the left-arm pacer had nine new players in company with Babar and Rizwan joining him from Category A while five players –ย Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha and Shadab Khan โ were all prmoted from Category C to Category B.
The biggest surprise was the decision regarding Test captain Shan Masood. Masood, who was promoted from Category C to B last year, has been relegated to Category D this time around and it seems like another big decision from the PCB might be on its way before Pakistan’s campaign in the new World Test Championship (WTC) cycle begins.
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 were the 12 new players added to the squad. On the other hand, Aamir Jamal, Haseebullah, Kamran Ghulam, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Huraira, Muhammad Irfan Khan and Usman Khan were among the eight to be dropped from the list of 27 last year.
Pakistan men’s contracted players list for 2025-26
Category B (10 players): Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Rizwan, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shadab Khan and Shaheen Shah Afridi
Category C (10 players): Abdullah Shafique, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Sahibzada Farhan, Sajid Khan and Saud Shakeel
Category D (10 players): Ahmed Daniyal, Hussain Talat, Khurram Shahzad, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Salman Mirza, Shan Masood and Sufyan Moqim
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