Pakistan cricketer Fakhar Zaman has been excluded from the central contracts list after publicly criticizing the national cricket board for resting Babar Azam during the England Test series. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced the list of contracted players for the 2024-25 season on Sunday, October 27. While some young players secured their first contracts, a few experienced players were notably absent from the list.
One such player was Fakhar Zaman, who was previously categorized under Category B in the central contracts for the previous season. His removal from the list follows his public criticism of the decision to rest Babar Azam on social media. This post did not sit well with PCB officials, leading to a 'show cause' notice being issued to Zaman.
As a result of this incident, Zaman has lost his central contract for the first time in eight years. The dynamic batsman's last appearance was during the T20 World Cup 2024, where Pakistan suffered early elimination after disappointing defeats against USA and India.
In addition to Zaman, other notable players missing from the new list of centrally contracted players include Iftikhar Ahmed, Hassan Ali, Sarfaraz Ahmed, and Imam-ul-Haq. Test captain Shan Masood has been promoted from Category D to Category B following Pakistan's historic series win over England. Young fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi, who missed the last two Tests, has been demoted to Category B.
New additions to the contract list include Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Khurram Shahzad, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Mohammad Ali, and Usman Khan, all placed in Category D.
List of centrally contracted players
Category A: Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan
Category B: Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Shan Masood
Category C: Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel and Shadab Khan
Category D: Aamir Jamal, Haseebullah, Kamran Ghulam, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Hurraira, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr and Usman Khan
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