No Category A! Babar Azam suffers major setback, demoted in PCB central contracts | Cricket News

NEW DELHI: Former Pakistan captain Babar Azam and present ODI skipper Mohammad Rizwan have been demoted to Category ‘B’ in the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) newest checklist of central contracts, launched on Tuesday. For the 2025–26 cycle, the PCB has not positioned any participant in the highest Category ‘A’, as an alternative distributing 30 cricketers throughout Categories B, C and D.“The contracts, effective from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026, reflect the Board’s continued commitment to recognising and supporting national talent. This year’s roster sees ten players each placed in Categories B, C, and D. Notably, no player has been selected for Category A in this cycle,” the PCB mentioned in a media launch.The board didn’t disclose the monetary particulars of the contracts.Babar and Rizwan’s demotion comes after a string of underwhelming performances in major tournaments, together with the 2024 T20 World Cup, the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy, and bilateral collection towards Bangladesh and the West Indies.Meanwhile, T20 captain Salman Ali Agha has been promoted from Category C to B, whereas opener Saim Ayub and pacer Haris Rauf have additionally moved up the ladder.The PCB has expanded its pool of contracted gamers from 27 final 12 months to 30 this 12 months, introducing 12 new names: Ahmed Daniyal, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Mirza, and Sufyan Moqim.Pakistan Cricket Board’s newest checklist of central contracts:

Nine gamers have retained their locations in the identical classes, together with Abdullah Shafique (Category C), Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, and Mohammad Wasim Jnr (all in Category D), together with Noman Ali, Sajid Khan, Saud Shakeel (all in Category C), and Shaheen Shah Afridi (Category B).On the opposite hand, eight gamers have been dropped from the central contracts checklist: Aamir Jamal, Haseebullah, Kamran Ghulam, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Huraira, Muhammad Irfan Khan, and Usman Khan — all of whom had been beforehand in Category D.