ICC share amount increases slightly in Pakistan cricketers' central contracts

After a considerable delay, the Pakistan Cricket Board  (PCB) recently announced the central contracts for national cricketers. Several key players, including Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, and Sarfaraz Ahmed, were not included. Although the PCB did not secure player signatures on the contract before their departure to Australia, it plans to obtain approval via email. 

The new contracts retain the previous match fees and monthly salaries but include a slight increase in the ICC share amount, based on a previously agreed formula. The payment for playing a Test match is PKR 1,257,795, while the fee for an ODI is PKR 644,620, and for a T20I, it is PKR 418,584. In Category A, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan will receive PKR 4.5 million as a monthly contract fee. The ICC share, which is 3% of the 2024-25 ICC revenue, has increased to PKR 2.07 million monthly, compared to the previous PKR 1.53 million. This brings their total monthly amount to PKR 6.57 million.

In Category B, players such as Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, and Shan Masood will receive a monthly salary of PKR 3 million, including an ICC share of PKR 1.552 million, up from the previous PKR 1.147 million, totaling PKR 4.552 million monthly.

Category C players, including Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Nauman Ali, Saim Ayub, Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel, and Shadab Khan, will receive a PKR 1 million monthly salary, with an ICC share of PKR 1.035 million, up from the previous PKR 765,000, bringing their monthly total to PKR 2.035 million.

Category D players, which include Aamir Jamal, Haseebullah, Kamran Ghulam, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Harira, Mohammad Irfan Khan, Mohammad Wasim Junior, and Usman Khan, will receive a monthly salary of PKR 750,000. With the addition of the ICC share of PKR 517,500 (up from PKR 382,500), their monthly total will now be PKR 1.267 million.

Additionally, central contract players receive substantial compensation for playing domestic matches, with a fee of PKR 628,898 for a four-day match, PKR 322,310 for an ODI, and PKR 209,292 for a T20 match.