Babar-Rizwan's salary reduced

With the disappointment of not being included in the Asia Cup team for Pakistan's two star batsmen Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, another piece of bad news has come. This time they have also been demoted in the central contract. On Tuesday (August 19), the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) released the list of 30 cricketers' central contracts for the 2025-26 season. The biggest change in this contract is that no player has been kept in the 'A' category. In the last contract, only Babar and Rizwan were in the top category. This time their names have been dropped to the 'B' category, as a result of which their salaries and other benefits will also be reduced.

Last time, there were 27 cricketers in the central contract, this time the number has increased to 30. 12 emerging players have been included in the new list. They are Ahmed Daniel, Fahim Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Mirza and Sufyan Makim. In addition, five cricketers have been promoted from the 'C' category to the 'B' category; they are Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha and Shadab Khan. 9 cricketers have maintained their position in the previous category.

On the other hand, 8 cricketers have been excluded from the central contract this year. They are Amer Jamal, Hasibullah, Kamran Ghulam, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Huraira, Mohammad Irfan Khan and Usman Khan, who were in the 'D' category last season.

Overall, the central contract downgrade of two of Pakistan cricket's biggest stars, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, has created a buzz in the country's cricket scene.