No category ‘A’ as PCB announces new central contracts

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Tuesday announced central contracts for 30 men’s cricketers, with no players included in category A this year.

According to the PCB, unlike previous years, no player has been placed in Category A. Instead, ten players each have been slotted into categories B, C, and D

Compared to last year’s list of 27, the pool has been expanded to 30, with 12 new names featuring for the first time.

The new entrants are 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 earned promotions on the back of strong performances last season. Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha and Shadab Khan have all been elevated from category C to category B.

Nine players have retained their positions, including Abdullah Shafique in category C; Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas Afridi and Mohammad Wasim Jnr in category D.

Noman Ali, Sajid Khan and Saud Shakeel in Category C and Shaheen Shah Afridi, who continues in category B.

The contracts, effective from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026.