Malik, Hafeez snubbed as PCB slashes central contracts list
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KARACHI: Pakistan’s cricket chiefs on Thursday slashed the annual central contracts list from 33 to 19 with the veteran duo of Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik among the players dumped.
Only three players – captain Sarfraz Ahmed, prolific batsman Babar Azam and leggie Yasir Shah — were included in the elite category A.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has also reduced the categories in the list from five to three as it decided to erase the D and E categories from it.
While 14 players who were given contracts last year have been axed, there is good news for the cricketers getting the PCB nod of approval as the Board has decided to give them a significant raise.
The biggest losers in the new list are Hafeez and Malik, who have been excluded from the list perhaps because the current national cricket think tank doesn’t see any role for them in their future plans. Malik, who recently retired from ODIs, and Hafeez were in categories A and B respectively last year.
Sarfraz’s inclusion in the A-category could be a hint that the Board might persist with him as captain in all three formats.
Babar Azam has been rewarded for his prolific form in all three formats. The PCB sees him as a future captain and could appoint him as vice-captain in all three formats soon.
Mohammad Amir, meanwhile, has been punished for his controversial decision to retire from Test cricket. The left-arm pacer was demoted to category C. Misfiring opener Fakhar Zaman was demoted from B to C. Azhar Ali was demoted from category A to B.
The trio of Imam-ul-Haq, Haris Sohail, and Mohammad Abbas, meanwhile, have been promoted from category C to B. Asad Shafiq was retained in B.
Asif Ali, who has been among Pakistan’s major investments in the recent past, was left out along with Junaid Khan, Hussain Talat, Bilal Asif, Mohammad Nawaz, Ruman Raees, Rahat Ali, Usman Salahuddin, Sahibzada Farhan, and Saad Ali.
The players’ performances and prospects were taken into consideration under the new system, which sees a significant increase - in the range of 25-40% - in the financial value of the annual contracts.
The new annual contracts will be valid from July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020, with Pakistan playing 42 days of international cricket, including 32 in Tests, in the next 12 months. Although the focus of the shortlisted pool has been around backing young players, the PCB, commenting on the exclusion of Malik and Hafeez, said both players ‘will remain available for selection’.
Given the PCB is without a selection committee at the moment - chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq had decided against renewing his contract once his stint ended in July - the list of contracted players was drawn up by the PCB director Zakir Khan (international cricket operations), Haroon Rasheed (domestic cricket operations), Muddasir Nazar (director, National Cricket Academy), and Wasim Khan (managing director, PCB). Once a new selection committee has been named, it will be able to add players to the contracts list.
“We have significantly increased the financial value of the 2019-20 retainers across each category,” Wasim said in a statement. “This is over and above what had been agreed in the current agreement, which is due to run until 2021.
“The PCB have set high standards and targets in its strategic plan for the upcoming season. We want to attach a high value to receiving a central contract. We have complete faith and confidence that these players will set up and produce on-field performances that will help us collectively achieve our objectives and targets.”
THE LIST
Category A (PKR 1.1m): Babar Azam, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Yasir Shah
Category B (PKR 750,000): Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali, Haris Sohail, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Abbas, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Wahab Riaz
Category C (PKR 550,000): Abid Ali, Hasan Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Rizwan, Shan Masood and Usman Shinwari
Out: Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Faheem Ashraf, Junaid Khan, Bilal Asif, Saad Ali, Mir Hamza, Umaid Asif, Sahibzada Farhan, Mohammad Nawaz, Rumman Raees, Asif Ali, Hussain Talat, Rahat Ali, Usman Salahuddin
Players who were demoted: Fakhar Zaman (B to C), Mohammad Amir (A to C), Hassan Ali (B to C)
Players who were promoted: Haris Sohail (C to B), Imam-ul-Haq (C to B), Mohammad Abbas (C to B), Wahab Riaz (C to B), Shaheen Afridi (E to B), Mohammad Rizwan (E to C). –with inputs from agencies
