Pakistan have reformed their central contracts system, with a new format-based structure put into place.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced a new and ‘revolutionary’ central contracts system, with the players now divided on the basis of the formats they feature in, rather than the traditional four-category system. Moving on from the earlier A, B, C, and D categories, the players will now come under the following four format tracks:
Track A: Test specialists
Track AB: Test and ODI players
Track BC: ODI and T20 players
Track D: T20I and franchise specialists
Each track will have two internal tiers, with players moving across the two levels based on their performance and “each player will be compared only with players from their own track”. The media release further states that the Test specialists, “for the first time... will be allowed to participate in the world's major first-class red-ball competitive leagues”.
New Pakistan central contracts: No franchise T20 leagues for Test specialists, domestic cricket mandatory
Despite the wording of the announcement, Pakistan internationals have been regular in the County Championship, with the likes of Hasan Ali, Mohammad Ali, Faheem Ashraf and Mohammad Abbas all given an NOC's to feature in the ongoing season. Another important development is that Test specialists will not be allowed to participate in franchise T20 leagues going forward.
Moreover, “to obtain a central contract, it will be mandatory for players to actively participate in domestic cricket.” There will also be special consideration given to fitness levels, and "a comprehensive medical and fitness assessment will be conducted for every player. The purpose is to protect players' long-term health and careers."
The modifications have been made to give equal opportunities to specialist red-ball players. "The old central contracts system for Pakistani cricketers created two problems. First, a player performing well in short formats sometimes gained more benefits than a committed Test cricketer. Second, opportunities for advancement for Test cricket specialists were limited without standout performances in white-ball cricket. The new system eliminates both issues because each cricketer will be compared only with cricketers from the format they are associated with," the statement further reads.
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