PCB hands red and white-ball contracts for 2022-23

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Thursday announced its men’s central contract lists for 2022-23.

The new contracts come into effect from Friday, 1 July.

It is the first time in history that the cricket board has introduced separate red and white-ball contracts, and added four more players to the ’emerging’ category.

33 players, with a difference of 13 players as compared to the previous season, have received contracts for the next 12 months.

The cricketers who have received both the red and white-ball contracts include Pakistan’s all-format captain Babar Azam, along with Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Rizwan, and Shaheen Shah Afridi.

According to PCB, Azhar Ali has been promoted to Category A, and Abdullah Shafique and Naseem Shah have been placed in Category C.

Saud Shakeel has been awarded Category D, and Fawad Alam and Nauman Ali have been retained Category B and C, respectively.

Abid Ali, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shan Masood, and Yasir Shah have been handed Category D contracts.

Furthermore, eleven limited-over specialists have been awarded white-ball contracts.

Fakhar Zaman and Shadab Khan, who were in Category B in 2021-22, have been awarded Category A contracts.

Haris Rauf has been promoted to Category B.

Mohammad Nawaz has been retained in Category C.

Shahnawaz Dahani and Usman Qadir have been promoted from Emerging to Category D joining the first-timers Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, and Zahid Mehmood.