Babar, Rizwan likely to be 'demoted' from Category A in PCB central contract

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam and wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan are at risk of being dropped from Category A of the central contract with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), sources told Geo News.

The national cricketers are under tight scrutiny after the Green Shirts made a disappointing early exit from the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024 due to their below the par performance. 

Despite the demotion, the salaries of the national cricketers will not be slashed.

Sources close to the matter said that work on a new central contract for the national players was underway.

There will be a new, "smaller" selection committee, which will finalise the central contract.

The global tournament proved challenging for the Green Shirts, who failed to progress beyond the league stage.

The team faced a surprising defeat at the hands of the United States and also conceded a match to India, a game that was initially in their favour.

This double setback prevented their advancement to the Super 8 round, marking a disappointing end to their campaign.

The sources also said that Shan Masood is likely to be retained as the red-ball skipper for the upcoming Test series against Bangladesh.

Earlier, Geo News reported that Masood, head coach Jason Gillespie and the selection committee have begun discussions related to Pakistan’s squad for the Test series against Bangladesh.

It is possible that the current white-ball skipper Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Shah Afridi will be rested for the Test matches against Bangladesh whereas Haris Rauf’s inclusion in the squad is not even being considered.

Saud Shakeel, Abdullah Shafique, Salman Ali Agha and former skipper and wicketkeeper-batter Sarfaraz Ahmed are being considered for the final squad.

As for the fast bowling department, Naseem Shah, Shahnawaz Dahani, Mir Hamza, Khurram Shahzad and Aamir Jamal are under consideration for selection.