Shaheen Afridi To Earn Less Than Babar Azam? Pakistan Players' Salary As Per New PCB Contract Detailed

Pakistan players reported salary out [Source: AFP]

Pakistan cricket has been going through turmoil, and ever since reaching the semifinals of the T20 World Cup 2022, things have gone downhill. Since then, the side have crashed out of the group stages in the 2023 World Cup, 2024 T20 World Cup, and the 2025 Champions Trophy.

Several coaches have been replaced, several players have come and gone, but nothing has worked wonders for Pakistan as their standards have fallen across formats. PCB reached its breaking point when the Pakistan Test team suffered a drubbing at the hands of Bangladesh recently.

As a result, the PCB Chairman, Mohsin Naqvi, decided to revamp Pakistan cricket, as he introduced a new Central Contract system, which was different from the previous algorithm used by the Asian side.

Naqvi introduces fresh Central Contract system for Pakistan players

A few days ago, Mohsin Naqvi chaired a meeting, wherein the new systematic central contract details were decided. Every contracted player has been aligned to a defined format pathway. Some pathways centre on the red-ball game; others on white-ball or T20 cricket.

Navi introduced five different categories, and each player will be divided into a category according to their performance and specialities.

Track AB is for the players who will play in dual formats (Tests and ODIs), while Track A is for players prioritising red-ball cricket only. Track BC is for white-ball specialists (ODIs and T20Is), and Track C is for T20I and franchise specialists.

Last but not least, Track D is for the development category as Naqvi has plans to revitalise Pakistan cricket.

"Every cricket board in the world is grappling with the same question: how do you keep Test cricket strong in the age of the franchise game? At Pakistan, we have chosen to answer it with structure rather than words. I am proud that this framework puts us at the front of that thinking — and I believe it points to a direction the wider game will move toward in the years ahead," Naqvi stated.

PCB decides salaries for each contractual category

The contract tier system was already announced by PCB, and according to reports by Geo News, the annual salaries have also been revealed.

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According to reports, the Test players will earn PKR 4.8 crore. Test and ODI players will earn PKR 6 crore, while ODI and T20I players will get PKR 2.16 crore.

Meanwhile, the T20I and franchise league players will earn around PKR 5 lakhs. Hence, the players who will play both Tests and ODIs will earn the most in PCB's new annual contract.

Which Pakistan players will fall in which category?

The likes of Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, who have done well in the T20Is, could fall into the Track C category. However, the likes of Babar Azam, and Shaheen Afridi could fall in different genres.

PCB has reportedly decided not to play him in red-ball cricket, and the management wants him to play in ODIs and T20Is, and hence, he might be included in Track B (white-ball specialists).

Babar, on the other hand, can be placed in Track AB (Tests and ODIs), as he remains their only valuable and experienced player.

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