PCB announces domestic contracts for 192 players for the 2020-21 season

The Pakistan Cricket Board have announced contracts of 192 domestic players for the 2020-21 season.

Of those 192 players, 10 have been awarded 'A Plus' contracts. These players were the leading performers in the 2019-20 first-class Quaid-e-Azam Trophy; there are also national team players without a central or emerging contract.

Misbah-ul-Haq, Pakistan men’s national team head coach and chief selector, who selected players for the A Plus category, said: “I want to congratulate the 10 players for securing the newly introduced A Plus category contracts, which is a reward for their efforts and hard work in the 2019-20 season that either earned them recognition in domestic cricket or places in the Pakistan men’s national team.

“I accept there will be a few players who will feel hard done but we could only pick a maximum of 10 players in this category. I want to assure every high-performing player that he will remain available for selection in the side and depending on how he performs in the 2020-21 season, will be in line for an increment next year.

“We want to make Pakistan cricket tough, competitive and performance-based, and this slab-based retainer policy is a reflection of this strategy. I am confident this will induce more passion amongst the players, which, in turn, will not only benefit the players but also Pakistan cricket.”

There are 38 players on category A contracts. This band includes the 10 best players from last season and those who have previously



represented Pakistan.

The remaiming players are in categories B, C and D. These consist of the best white-ball players in the country and include those who have represented Pakistan at international level.

Nadeem Khan, the PCB's high performance director said: “I have always believed and emphasised on criteria and performance-based contracts and this is reflective in the 2020-21 domestic player contract categories.

“While setting up the criteria, we have also moved from a fixed slab retainer structure to a category-based retainer structure because I think it is fair on leading or experienced players to be treated and paid differently to a beginner or a starter. Furthermore, this is also consistent to how we offer central contracts to our elite cricketers.

“Through this model, we have also ensured we retain and protect our age-group cricketers, who in the past have dropped out either due to non-selection or non-recognition. These eight under 19 cricketers who played in the ICC Under 19 Cricket World Cup 2020 and 11 emerging/shaheen players will now remain part of the system and will get their opportunities to improve and move in an upward direction."

A+ Category (10, monthly retainer £700) - Bilal Asif (Central Punjab), Fahim Ashraf (Central Punjab), Fawad Alam (Sindh), Imran Butt (Balochistan), Imran Khan Snr (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Kashif Bhatti (Balochistan), Khushdil Shah (Southern Punjab), Nauman Ali (Northern), Sohail Khan (Sindh), Zafar Gohar (Central Punjab).