The Pakistan Cricket Committee (PCB) has announced the long-awaited central contract for the men’s team to promote fast bowler Hassan Ali and goalkeeper Mohamed Rizwan to the A category after their outstanding performance in the recent series.

After the Board of Directors approved the 2021-22 fiscal year budget, PCB announced the contract details. The 12-month contract is valid from July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022.

The statement said: “This is a performance-based and enhanced central contract list for 20 elite male cricketers (including three emerging cricketers), including three emerging cricketers, including all forms of competition. The costs are all equal.”

The list was finalized by a team consisting of International Cricket Director Zakir Khan, Chief Selection Officer Mohamed Wasim and High Performance Director Nadim Khan. He also consulted with head coach Misbah-ul-Haq and captain Babar Azam as Part of the process.

The provisional list was then shared with PCB CEO Wasim Khan before being approved by PCB Chairman Ehsan Mani.
In the list of central contracts for the 2021-22 season, Hassan Ali and Mohamed Rizwan were offered Type A contracts. Hassan Ali missed his contract due to injury last year, but in the 2020-21 season and looking forward to the future 2021-22 season, he has been placed in Group A.

By transferring him from category B to category A, Rizwan was rewarded for his consistent performance in all formats.

Similarly, Fahim Ashraf, Fawad Alam, Mohamed Nawaz and Nauman Ali also won center forward contracts in recognition of their contribution and performance in the 2020-21 season.

Haris Rauf and Mohammad Hasnain were promoted to Category C in the emerging category last year, while the young Imran Butt, Shahnawaz Dahani and Usman Qadir were placed in the emerging category.

Players who missed the central contract include Assad Shafik, Haider Ali, Harris Sohail, Iftiha Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohamed Abbas, Nasi Shah, Shan Masood and Usman Sinwari.

However, they are still firmly in the selector’s future season plan and have a chance to win a contract for the 2022-23 season, depending on the performance of the 2021-22 season.