Senior Players Furious As Pakistan Drops Babar, Rizwan To Category B
PCB removes Category A from central contracts; Babar Azam and Rizwan demoted to Category B, senior players left shocked.
The Pakistan Cricket Board’s latest contract announcement has sparked discontent among senior players. On Tuesday, PCB confirmed central contracts for 30 male cricketers for the period July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026. But unlike previous years, there was no Category A, leaving big names like Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan stunned.
Last season, Babar and Rizwan were the only players in Category A. This time, both have been shifted to Category B, while the entire pool has been divided equally into Categories B, C, and D.
In total, 12 new players have been added compared to the 27 who were contracted last year. According to Cricket Pakistan, senior players “were not only shocked but also displeased, feeling disrespected.”
Some of them reportedly discussed rejecting their contracts, although players can still represent Pakistan even without one. The board informed players a day earlier through an official call, but no selectors were present to explain the move.
The report also hinted at internal murmurs of favouritism, with claims that a few names were promoted under the influence of bowling coach Aaqib Javed and head coach Mike Hesson.
Questions were raised, for example, about Faheem Ashraf’s inclusion despite playing only nine T20Is this year, where he scored 97 runs and picked up six wickets.
PCB sources, however, denied such allegations. They insisted that “100% merit was followed” and that players’ categories will improve as their performances improve in the future.
