|| CF DESK ||

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has released the men’s central contract list for the 2021/22 season, which sees Mohammad Abbas, Naseem Shah, Shan Masood, Haider Ali and Asad Shafiq lose contracts. Meanwhile, Hasan Ali and Mohammad Rizwan have been promoted to Category A.

A number of senior and young players have lost a central contract for the 2021/22 season including Asad Shafiq, Haider Ali, Haris Sohail, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Abbas, Naseem Shah, Shan Masood and Usman Shinwari. Each of the nine players mentioned had contracts for the 2020/21 season, with Shafiq, Sohail, Abbas and Masood even finding themselves in category B.

Naseem, who is 18 years old, and Haider, who is 20, had been considered among Pakistan's strongest future prospects before they were axed from the contracts list. Haider made two half-centuries in his first three T20I innings but has regressed since then, his current average in the format a modest 19.69 after 15 matches.

Despite the contract deal, PCB CEO Wasim Khan claimed the door is still ‘firmly’ open for the nine players, as far as selection is concerned.

“In the new list, we have seen the emergence of eight new players who have now obtained central contracts. Due to the competitive nature of the central contracting system nine players who had contracts in 2020-21 unfortunately lost on this occasion. The door remains wide open for these players and they will continue to stay in the selectors ’plans,” Khan said, in a statement issued by the PCB.

Faheem Ashraf, Fawad Alam, Mohammad Nawaz and Nauman Ali are among eight new additions to the centrally contracted list, with Imran Butt, Shahnawaz Dahani and Usman Qadir also finding themselves in the ‘Emerging Category’.

Mohammad Rizwan and Hasan Ali were promoted to Category A, while Azhar Ali saw himself fall into category B. Haris Rauf and Mohammad Hasnain are also among those who climbed the ladder, with the duo gaining a jump in category C (from Emerging).