JOIN OUR WHATSAPP CHANNEL
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Tuesday confirmed central contracts for 30 men’s cricketers for the 2025–26 season, with no player included in Category A this year.
According to the PCB press release, the new contracts, which run from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026, divide the players equally across Categories B, C, and D, with 10 cricketers placed in each group.
Compared to last year’s list of 27, the pool has been expanded to 30, featuring 12 new names. The fresh inclusions are Ahmed Daniyal, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Mirza, and Sufiyan Muqeem.
Five players have been rewarded with promotions following strong displays over the past year. Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, and Shadab Khan have all moved up from Category C to Category B.
Meanwhile, nine players have kept their previous slots. Among them are 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, while Shaheen Shah Afridi continues in Category B.
However, eight cricketers who were part of last year’s contracts have missed out this time. Aamer Jamal, Haseebullah, Kamran Ghulam, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Huraira, Muhammad Irfan Khan, and Usman Khan, all previously in Category D, have not been retained.
The list of centrally contracted players for the 2025–26 season:
Category B: 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: Abdullah Shafique, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Sahibzada Farhan, Sajid Khan and Saud Shakeel.
Category D: Ahmed Daniyal, Hussain Talat, Khurram Shahzad, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Salman Mirza, Shan Masood and Sufiyan Muqeem.
