ABDUL JABBAR FAISAL
ISLAMABAD:-Two captains, Azhar Ali and Babar Azam along with left arm pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi placed in “A” category in the Central Contact List (CCL) for Season 2020-21, which was released by Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Wednesday.
According to Media Department of PCB, as many as 18-players are the part of central contract list in different three categories, as pacer Naseem Shah and batsman Iftikhar Ahmad are two new names in the list. Three players are in category “A”, nine in “B” and six in “C” while three players are in the Emerging category, as the contact will be effected from July 1 this year 2020.
PCB also confirmed Azhar Ali as Test and Babar Azam as ODI and T20I captains for the period during which Pakistan is scheduled to play nine Tests, six ODIs and 20 T20Is, besides the Asia Cup and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2020.
Naseem Shah became the youngest Test bowler in the history to take a fifer and a hat-trick in consecutive Tests against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in Karachi and Rawalpindi, respectively. Iftikhar, who had the best average and strike rate in T20Is amongst the Pakistan batsmen, played two Tests, two ODIs and seven T20Is in the 2019-20 season.
Shaheen, following his 18 Test and two T20I wickets, has moved up in Category A, while Abid Ali (174 runs in three Tests and 74 runs in an ODI), Mohammad Rizwan (212 runs and 16 dismissals in five Tests, 50 runs and two dismissals in five T20Is) and Shan Masood (396 runs in five Tests) have been awarded Category B.
Furthermore, and as part of its commitment and strategy to reward high-performing young cricketers, the PCB has created a new Emerging Players’ Category, and the initial inductees are Haider Ali and fast bowlers Haris Rauf and Mohammad Hasnain.
Hasan Ali, Mohammad Amir and Wahab Riaz have missed out on central contracts but will remain in contention for selection in what will be a busier cricket season as compared to the one that has just concluded, while Imam-ul-Haq, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Yasir Shah have slipped one category each.
In the forthcoming season, Pakistan is scheduled to play two T20Is in Ireland (July), three Tests and three T20Is in England (July-September), three ODIs and three T20Is in South Africa (October), three ODIs and three T20Is at home against Zimbabwe (November), two tests and three T20Is in New Zealand (December), two Tests and three T20Is at home against South Africa (January 2021) and two Tests and three T20Is in Zimbabwe (April 2021).
In addition to these bilateral series, Pakistan will also feature in the Asia Cup T20 tournament and the ICC T20 Men’s World Cup 2020 in Australia.
PCB Men’s Central Contract List for 2020-21:
Category A:- Azhar Ali, Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi
Category B:- Abid Ali, Asad Shafiq, Haris Sohail, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Rizwan, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Shan Masood, Yasir Shah
Category C:-Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Imam-ul-Haq, Naseem Shah, Usman Shinwari
Emerging Players’ Category:-Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain.
