LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced central contracts for the players, ARY News reported on Sunday.
As many as 25 players have been added to the central contract list by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). Fakhar Zaman, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Imad Wasim and Iftikhar Ahmed have been dropped.
Former captain Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan have retained their spots in the prestigious “A” category.
For the first time, PCB has also offered central contracts to five emerging players, marking a new initiative.
Fast bowlers Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah have been awarded B-category contracts while Shan Masood’s B-category contract is subject to him remaining captain.
Players in the C category include Shadab Khan, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmad, Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel, Haris Rauf and Saim Ayub. Noman Ali’s contract is subject to fitness.
Aamer Jamal, Muhammad Waseem, Muhammad Hurraira, Mir Hamza, Khurram Shehzad, Mohammed Ali, Usman KhanIrfan Niazi, Haseebullah Khan, Abbas Afridi and Kamran Ghulam were given D-category contracts.
Read more: Shan Masood promoted in PCB’s central contract list
The Spin-duo of Sajid Khan and Nauman Ali played a vital role in beating England in the recent Test Series as the national team was down and out after losing the first match of the series by an innings.
Both the spinners grabbed 39 wickets collectively.
On Saturday, Pakistan sealed a Test series victory after a gap of more than three years with a thumping nine-wicket victory over England in the third match in Rawalpindi.
Pakistan’s decision to make four massive changes after the first Test thrashing paid off as their spin duo of Sajid Khan and Noman Ali, coming in as Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah’s replacement, gave a new life to the struggling hosts.
The spin duo claimed 39 out of 40 England wickets to fall in the remaining two Tests, coupled with handy and timely cameos to further traumatize the touring side.
Their mastery of spin steered Pakistan to their first home Test series victory since 2021.
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