Former Pakistan captain Babar Azam is likely to lose his place in Category A of the upcoming Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) central contracts list, media reports have stated. 

 

New central contracts are in the final stages of preparation and are expected to be announced next week. Sources said Babar Azam may not retain his Category A spot after a spare of poor performances, while major changes are also expected in the list.

 

T20 captain Salman Ali Agha and spinner Abrar Ahmed are expected to be promoted, while Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Nawaz, Hasan Ali, and Khushdil Shah are also in line for contracts.

 

Reports added that Sahibzada Farhan, Hasan Nawaz, and Sufiyan Muqeem are likely to be included, but Usman Khan, Haseebullah, and Khurram Shahzad will miss out.

 

Last year, PCB awarded central contracts to 25 players. This time the number will increase to 30. In the previous contracts, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan secured Category A, while Shaheen Shah Afridi was surprisingly demoted to Category B. Fakhar Zaman and Sarfaraz Ahmed were dropped completely. Imam-ul-Haq, Iftikhar Ahmed, Hasan Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Nawaz, and Tayyab Tahir also missed out on deals.

 

Players in Category A currently receive PKR 6.57 million per month, Category B players earn PKR 4.55 million, Category C players get PKR 2.03 million, and Category D players are paid PKR 1.26 million.

 

PCB has increased the retainer budget by 37 percent, raising it to PKR 1,173.49 million, although monthly salaries and match fees will remain the same as last year.

 

Reports further revealed that this may be the final year players receive three percent of ICC revenue share, as the current three-year agreement will expire next year.

 

Babar has not been included in the national squad for the upcoming tri-series against UAE and Afghanistan, as well as the Asia Cup 2025.