Fawad Alam, Hasan Ali among players likely to gain from new central contracts

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is set to make changes to its men’s central contracts, for 2021-22, with emphasis on fitness and performance.

The PCB Men’s Central Contracts for 2020-21 will expire on June 30, which is why the team management and chief selector, Mohammad Wasim, will discuss the matter after the conclusion of Pakistan’s tour of Zimbabwe.

In-form Fawad Alam could be promoted from C to B category, while former captain Azhar Ali could be demoted from A to B.

PCB is likely to retain captain Babar Azam, pacer Shaheen Afridi and wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan in the A category.

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Meanwhile, pacer Hasan Ali, all-rounders Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Nawaz and Faheem Ashraf, leg-spinners Usman Qadir and Zahid Mehmood and opener Imran Butt are also likely to be included the centrally contracted players’ list.

However, pacer Usman Shinwari, all-rounder Iftikhar Ahmed and middle-order batsmen Asad Shafiq and Haris Sohail could be excluded from the list.   

Centrally Contracted Players List 2020-21:

Category A – Azhar Ali, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Shah Afridi

Category B – Abid Ali, Asad Shafiq, Haris Sohail, Mohammad Abbas, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Shan Masood and Yasir Shah

Category C – Fakhar Zaman, Fawad Alam, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Imamul Haq, Naseem Shah and Usman Shinwari

Emerging Category – Haider Ali, Haris Rauf and Mohammad Hasnain