Only days after being snubbed from the T20I squad yet again, veteran batters Babar Azam and Muhammad Rizwan have been demoted in the Pakistan Men’s Contracts for the forthcoming 2025-26 international cycle, announced by the Pakistan Cricket Board on Tuesday.
While Babar and Rizwan were the only men to be placed Category A last year, PCB’s upgraded contracts roster from 27 in 2024-25 to 30 this year has seen a rise in the Category B player bracket.
Five players – Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha and Shadab Khan – moved up a category while nine new entrants were listed by the board. “Compared to last year’s list of 27 contracted players, the PCB has expanded the pool to 30, including 12 fresh additions, highlighting the emergence of promising new talent and the Board’s strategic focus on squad depth and future development,” a PCB statement read.
The Babar-Rizwan situation
Babar and Rizwan were found wanting as Pakistan endured a crushing series defeat in the ODI leg in West Indies. In the series decider, chasing 295, Babar fell for nine while skipper Rizwan bagged a duck as Pakistan slipped to a 202-run defeat. White-ball head coach Mike Hesson later stated that the onus on their T20I recalls were left to the two seasoned batters, provided they work on their T20I scoring rates.
“There’s no doubt Babar’s been asked to improve in some areas around taking on spin and in terms of his strike rate. Those are things he’s working really hard on,” Hesson said after the Asia Cup squad reveal.
“But at the moment the players we have, have done exceptionally well. Sahibzada Farhan has played six games (against Bangladesh and West Indies) and won three Player of the Match awards.
“A player like Babar has an opportunity to play in the BBL and show he’s improving in those areas in T20s. He’s too good a player not to consider.”
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Pakistan 2025-26 Central Contracts:
Category B (10 players): Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Rizwan, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shadab Khan and Shaheen Shah Afridi
Category C (10 players): Abdullah Shafique, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Sahibzada Farhan, Sajid Khan and Saud Shakeel
Category D (10 players): Ahmed Daniyal, Hussain Talat, Khurram Shahzad, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Salman Mirza, Shan Masood and Sufyan Moqim.
