Shaheen Afridi demoted to Category B from Category A as PCB announces central contracts for 2024-25 season
Senior left-arm pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi has been demoted to Category B from Category A in Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)'s central contracts list for 2024-25. Further, central contracts have not been offered to senior cricketers like Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed and Osama Mir.
In all, the PCB has awarded central contracts to a total of 25 players in comparison to 27 last year, as per a report in news agency PTI. In the wake of Afridi's demotion, only two players feature in Category A of PCB's central contracts - former captain Babar Azam and newly-appointed white-ball skipper and keeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan.
Despite being the team's Test captain, Shan Masood will have to be content with a Category B central contract. Apart from Afridi and Masood, young pacer Naseem Shah is the only other name with a Category B contract. Nine players have been offered Category C contracts, while 11 have been handed Category D contracts.
While announcing the updated central contracts for the 2024-25 season, an official release from the Pakistan Cricket Board stated:
"The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has awarded 12-month central contracts to 25 men’s cricketers for the 2024-25 international season, effective from 1 July 2024. The contracts have been offered under the structure that was agreed last year between the players and the PCB for a three-year period."
The release further added that as part of the PCB’s strategy to 'incentivise, encourage and reward talented and emerging cricketers', five players have been offered central contracts for the first time.
Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Ali, Muhammad Irfan Khan and Usman Khan are the five players to have received their maiden contracts. All the five players have been placed in Category D.
Full list of PCB's centrally contracted players for 2024-25
Below is the full list of Pakistan Cricket Board's centrally contracted players for the 2024-25 season.
Category A: Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan
Category B: Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Shan Masood
Category C: Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel and Shadab Khan
Category D: Aamir Jamal, Haseebullah, Kamran Ghulam, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Hurraira, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr and Usman Khan