PCB announces list of centrally contracted players for 2018/19 - One new category

[Abdullah719]

PCB Central Contracts 2018-19

PCB announces its Centrally Contracted Players list for the 2018-19 season. The Central Contracts Selection Committee comprising Director Cricket Operations Haroon Rashid, National Chief Selector Inzamam Ul Haq & Director Academies Mudassar Nazar, had recommended and Chairman PCB Mr. Najam Sethi has approved the attached list of players listed with Categories.

The 2017-18 Financial Year marked the conclusion of a 3 year financial formula agreed between PCB and its Players. In concert with Players’ Representatives Captain Sarfraz Ahmed and Senior Player Shoaib Malik, PCB is pleased to inform that it has reached a fresh 3 Year Financial Remuneration Agreement with its players.

In the New Central Contracts PCB has raised the Monthly Remuneration for each of its categories ranging between 25-30%, and has also increased its Players Match Fees by 20 % across categories. An agreed % increase will also be given to the players in years two and 3 of the new agreement.

A New Category, “E”, has been added to the Central Contracts to recognize performers on the Domestic Circuit as well as to encourage the continuing development of emerging cricketers from the Junior Cricket Level.

Category A

Azhar Ali
Shoaib Malik
Sarfaraz Ahmed
Yasir Shah
Babar Azam
Mohammad Amir

Category B

Mohammad Hafeez
Faheem Ashraf
Asad Shafiq
Hasan Ali
Fakhar Zaman
Shadab Khan

Category C

Mohammad Abbas
Wahab Riaz
Junaid Khan
Haris Sohail
Imam-ul-Haq
Mohammad Nawaz
Usman Khan Shinwari
Shan Masood
Imad Wasim

Category D

Rumman Raees
Asif Ali
Rahat Ali
Usman Salahuddin
Hussain Talat

Category E

Bilal Asif
Saad Ali
Mohammad Rizwan
Shaheen Shah Afridi
Sahibzada Farhan
Umaid Asif
Mir Hamza


Summary:

No. of Cats
Category ‘A’ = 6
Category ‘B’ = 6
Category ‘C’ = 9
Category ‘D’ = 5
Category ‘E’ = 7
Total = 33

 

[babajee]

So Shan Masood is still on the radar

 

[Slim]

Good on PCB for introducing the new category. PCB really has turned a new leaf under Najam in terms of professionalism and being competent.

Also, looks like Shehzad didnt get selected for the central contract. Hes gone it seems.

 

[topspin]

With the exception of Babar Azam, seems like the seniority culture in PCB is still rife.

Hasan Ali should be in the A category instead of Shoaib Malik and Hafeez shouldn't be anywhere near a B contract. The likes of Abbas and Imam were far more deserving of this grade rather than the C they've been given.

 

[mak36]

For those interested, here is how it compares to last year's list:

Same:

Azhar Ali
Shoaib Malik
Sarfaraz Ahmed
Yasir Shah
Asad Shafiq
Hasan Ali
Wahab Riaz
Shan Masood
Junaid Khan
Haris Sohail
Mohammad Abbas
Usman Salahuddin
Rumman Raees

Up:

Babar Azam (+1)
Fakhar Zaman (+1)
Shadab Khan (+1)
Mohammad Nawaz (+1)
Usman Shinwari (+1)
Faheem Ashraf (+2)
Imam Ul Haq (+1)

Down:
Hafeez (-1)
Imad Wasim (-1)
Rahat Ali (-1)
Bilal Asif (-1)
Mir Hamza (-1)
Mohammad Rizwan (-1)

Out:

Sohail Khan
Ahmed Shehzad
Asif Zakir
Aamer Yamin
Umar Amin
Mohammad Hasan
Mohammad Asghar
Sami Aslam

In:

Asif Ali (D)
Hussain Talat (D)
Saad Ali (E)
Shaheen Shah Afridi (E)
Sahibzada Farhan (E)
Umaid Asif (E)

 

[Abdullah719]

For those interested, here is how it compares to last year's list:

Same:

Azhar Ali
Shoaib Malik
Sarfaraz Ahmed
Yasir Shah
Asad Shafiq
Hasan Ali
Wahab Riaz
Shan Masood
Junaid Khan
Haris Sohail
Mohammad Abbas
Usman Salahuddin
Rumman Raees

Up:

Babar Azam (+1)
Fakhar Zaman (+1)
Shadab Khan (+1)
Mohammad Nawaz (+1)
Usman Shinwari (+1)
Faheem Ashraf (+2)
Imam Ul Haq (+1)

Down:
Hafeez (-1)
Imad Wasim (-1)
Rahat Ali (-1)
Bilal Asif (-1)
Mir Hamza (-1)
Mohammad Rizwan (-1)

Out:

Sohail Khan
Ahmed Shehzad
Asif Zakir
Aamer Yamin
Umar Amin
Mohammad Hasan
Mohammad Asghar
Sami Aslam

In:

Asif Ali (D)
Hussain Talat (D)
Saad Ali (E)
Shaheen Shah Afridi (E)
Sahibzada Farhan (E)
Umaid Asif (E)

Great work, I was gonna do that right now but you saved me a few precious minutes

Hasan and Abbas should have been promoted, I think.

 

[TeymurBlake]

God why are some seniors still there. Majority of seniors shouldn't be there man. No Zafar Gohar, Usama Mir, Saud Shakeel, Aamir Yamin or Ahmed Bashir but somehow Umaid Asif, Bilal Asif, Wahab Riaz who is having a great Natwest T20 Blast, Shan "walking wicket" Masood and Rahat "Phaast Bowler" Ali.

 

[topspin]

With the exception of Babar Azam, seems like the seniority culture in PCB is still rife.

Hasan Ali should be in the A category instead of Shoaib Malik and Hafeez shouldn't be anywhere near a B contract. The likes of Abbas and Imam were far more deserving of this grade rather than the C they've been given.

Also forgot to mention Fakhar Zaman should be a Grade A contract as well. Babar Azam definitely isn't the superior bat lol but I'm happy to see him in the top category.

 

[The_Odd_One]

Fakhar should have been in A and Malik in B.

 

[Bewal Express]

Fakhar Zaman- a player who has single handedly changed our ODI fortunes in the last yr is behind Malik. Can someone explain?

 

[mak36]

Great work, I was gonna do that right now but you saved me a few precious minutes

Hasan and Abbas should have been promoted, I think.

No problem.

Overall, it’s a pretty decent list.

Abbas and Fakhar deserved (bigger) promotions. Hasan has been a little off-colour, so don’t mind him not getting promoted. It will keep him grounded and motivated.

Particularly pleased with the promotions of Babar Azam, Shadab Khan and Faheem Ashraf.

It's not often you can say this, but all the added players are good additions. Personally, I would have preferred Ahmed Bashir over Umaid Asif, but it’s good they have added another r/a seamer.

They should have added a few more players in Category E (Saud Shakeel, Agha Salman etc).

Bilal Asif bowled surprisingly well in the Pakistan Cup so don’t mind seeing him retained. I do think Ashiq Ali deserved a contract too though.

On the removals:

Removing Aamer Yamin is harsh- a back up seam-bowling A/R is always useful and he hasn’t really been given too many opportunities.

It’s a little worrying Asghar is removed but no new spinner is inducted.

Personally I would have much preferred Sami Aslam over Shan Masood.

 

[Sultan Baba]

No Umar Amin?

 

[Pakhs]

Everything considered fair list.

 

[Slim]

Looks like end of the road for Umar Amin and Sami Aslam as well.

 

[mirza105]

For those interested, here is how it compares to last year's list:

Same:

Azhar Ali
Shoaib Malik
Sarfaraz Ahmed
Yasir Shah
Asad Shafiq
Hasan Ali
Wahab Riaz
Shan Masood
Junaid Khan
Haris Sohail
Mohammad Abbas
Usman Salahuddin
Rumman Raees

Up:

Babar Azam (+1)
Fakhar Zaman (+1)
Shadab Khan (+1)
Mohammad Nawaz (+1)
Usman Shinwari (+1)
Faheem Ashraf (+2)
Imam Ul Haq (+1)

Down:
Hafeez (-1)
Imad Wasim (-1)
Rahat Ali (-1)
Bilal Asif (-1)
Mir Hamza (-1)
Mohammad Rizwan (-1)

Out:

Sohail Khan
Ahmed Shehzad
Asif Zakir
Aamer Yamin
Umar Amin
Mohammad Hasan
Mohammad Asghar
Sami Aslam

In:

Asif Ali (D)
Hussain Talat (D)
Saad Ali (E)
Shaheen Shah Afridi (E)
Sahibzada Farhan (E)
Umaid Asif (E)

it is good every performer has been rewarded

 

[Markhor]

Mohd Hafeez, Shan Masood and Rahat Ali are questionable picks.

 

[Hasan123]

Hassan Ali surely has to be in category A

 

[cricketAXEpert]

Shaan Masood ??? Why is he still a contracted player.

 

[WhenSultansBowled]

Hassan Ali and Fakhar Zaman are A+ category-

Come on PCB! what's wrong with y'all?

 

[The cricket enthusiast]

are ppers ignoring it or just plain blind?
the only back up wicket keeper has been pushed to new introduced E category .
i cant see any plan over here sarfraz playing all the matches even against Zimbabwe c team. why not give chance to any upcoming talent what if he gets injured in major tournament?

 

[Salman4.]

No Amin, Yamin or Saud Shakeel.

 

[Suleiman]

Shameless PCB putting Hafeez and Hasan in the same contract.

Category B for blessed in all facets I guess.

 

[Kroll]

Hassan Ali and Fakhar Zaman are A+ category-

Come on PCB! what's wrong with y'all?

They're certainly A+ category players for us. Other than accommodating seniors, can only speculate the reason is that they've emerged within the last year / year and a half.

 

[zoeyfactor]

More or less, accurate except a few. Does someone know and can post financials tied to the increases?

 

[Square Drive]

Pretty good overall! Finally we have a youngster in the A category. The seniors that fill up that category are all likeable players that have done decently in their respective formats, so not too fussed.

Hafeez should've been in C or D if I'm being generous. Rahat should've been out, as should Shan. I'd much rather have Sami Aslam or even Imran Butt in a lower tier.

Asghar going out is not good. No other spinner in there bar Bilal who is aging, which really is not good. Would've preferred a Zafar or Raza in there.

Umaid is a little old but meh, it's just the E category so no biggie. Good thing Talat and Asif are a tier above.

Yamin is incredibly unlucky. If Imad and Nawaz can get a C category contract, Yamin should have as well.

I would've kept Amin in too, atleast as a D category player. Him/Sahibzada would be good shouts for the 3rd opener, but I guess it's Hafeez for now and then it'll be Farhan after the WC. Meh, not too bad now that Hafeez can bowl, and knowing that him and Malik will be gone real soon.

Shehzad gone which is always good news.

Mir, Saad, Shaheen all in there which is great. Usman also got a D which is good

Overall not too bad. Am quite pleased.

 

[Square Drive]

I guess Hasan could've been given an A, but as said above, this keeps him grounded.

Fakhar too, but out of all young players that deserved A, he on paper has the highest chance of getting "exposed", so let's see him perform another year and maybe even find a Test spot, after which he will fully be deserving of an A next time around.

Shadab deserves an A IMO but he's still only 19, so perhaps it's a little too early. Faheem must put up better performances with the bat, but a B is very good considering he had a D contract before. Had the highest jump so good for him.

 

[Sarfarazian92]

Amir in Cat A and Hassan in Cat B lmaooo

 

[Arham_PakFan]

Fakhar should have been in A.

Abbas should have been in B

Masood and Hafeez and contentious selections but rest is OK I think.

 

[GrandMaster]

Yasir Shah in grade A doesn’t make any sense.

 

[JibranAnsari]

Yasir Shah in grade A doesn’t make any sense.

bowls like 100 overs in every test match.

 

[mmkextreme_1]

Overall an expected list

Why is Bilal Asif and Shan Masood (maybe because of his LO performances?) there?

Zafar Gohar, Asghar, and Sami Aslam should have been selected.

 

[Nasty Naz]

Don't really understand why Bilal Asif is there. Even if he gets selected, it should only be for T20's as he can only slog and isn't a particularly great bowler. He is 32 years old too and shouldn't be much of an investment at this point.

If Pakistan really wanted a right handed offspinner allrounder, then why not Agha Salman? He looks like a genuine batsman who can bat and bowl in ODI's and T20's. I'm not sure he is good enough to play in Tests but can certainly be useful in LOI and is much younger and with a better track record domestically.

Very odd that Gohar and Asghar have been completely dropped and haven't even been given a chance internationally so far.

 

[srh]

are ppers ignoring it or just plain blind?
the only back up wicket keeper has been pushed to new introduced E category .
i cant see any plan over here sarfraz playing all the matches even against Zimbabwe c team. why not give chance to any upcoming talent what if he gets injured in major tournament?

Sarfraz Ahmed is milking his captaincy credentials to new heights and as a result Pakistan will suffer in future when Sarfraz is total liability as WK and the next WK is not ready

 

[coy0607]

Why is Amir in A, while Hassan and Abbas are in B and C. Hassan (in ODI) and Abbas (in Test) have unquestionably been the best fast bowlers in the last year

Malik in A is purely seniority based. I like Malik, and I think he'll be a key contributor in the WC, but him being a grade above Fakhar makes no sense

Yasir in A and Shadab in B - Shadab is an all-rounder and a staple in ODI / T20. He's also probably going to play a lot of test matches in the next year. So why is he a grade below Yasir who only plays tests, and hasn't even played those in 6 months

Haris in C and Asif is D? Haris is still struggling to make his place in any format, whereas Asif is going to be a key ODI and T20 player in the next year, as he has been in the last 6 months.

Hafeez should be D at best. What has done in the last year, and really is he expected to do much in the next year?

This list reeks of seniority culture !

 

[asfandyar]

How did Umaid Asif make the list?

 

[UN talkz]

How did Umaid Asif make the list?

Sir check his performance in last domestic season across formats

 

[cricketAXEpert]

So Shan Masood is still on the radar

Shan Masood is the new 'Faisal Iqbal'.

 

[mak36]

Poor Mohammed Abbas.

Only the PCB would award a cricketer "test player of the year" having announced just two days before that said cricketer will still be stuck on a C contract.

Talk about mixed messages!

 

[asfandyar]

Sir check his performance in last domestic season across formats

But he is 34 years old, and a bowler debuting at that age is unacceptable. Overall stats are ok, but nothing to be excited about. I suggested his name in 2012 on PP, but the ship has sailed for him now.

 

[MenInG]

How many of these players need to be demoted? or taken out? or promoted even!?

 

[Abdullah]

Shan Masood is the new 'Faisal Iqbal'.

Mate , pipe down. Guy has looked awesome in this game

 

[CricketDon]

Looking at majority of the people in A and B makes my blood boil.


Makes me want to see Pakistan lose every single game including to minnows. Imran Khan and has big bags of lies done nothing to change PCB as he said he would. Seems worse

 

[Abdullah719]

Makes me want to see Pakistan lose every single game including to minnows. Imran Khan and has big bags of lies done nothing to change PCB as he said he would. Seems worse��

The central contracts were approved under Najam Sethi's leadership.

However I am not sure what kind of change you were expecting to take place. Nothing happens immediately. Any changes will happen via a gradual period. The appointment of Wasim Khan is one of the steps in the right direction.