Highest-paid Pakistan cricketers with Babar Azam still the top earning player

Shaheen Afridi moved down to category B in new list of centrally contracted players

Pakistan's new white-ball captain Mohammad Rizwan, second left, has retained his top grade central contract. AP

Pakistan's cricket board announced a new list of centrally contracted players, signaling a shift in priorities and change in hierarchy in the national cricket team.

Over the past month, Pakistan's cricket structure underwent another dramatic change with senior players such as Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah removed from the Test team.

Those performing regularly in domestic cricket were given a chance and it produced the desired results as Pakistan scripted a stunning turnaround to win the Test series against England 2-1.

The Pakistan management, however, brought Babar, Shaheen and Naseem back into the white-ball fold for the limited-overs tour of Australia, under the new white-ball captaincy of Mohammad Rizwan.

The change in the mindset of Pakistan management was reflected in the new list of centrally contracted players.

The most prominent move was the demotion of fast bowler and recent T20 captain Shaheen Afridi.

While Babar and Rizwan retained their position in the top A category, Afridi was pushed down to category B alongside fast bowler Naseem and Test captain Shan Masood.

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  Jamie Smith rescued England's innings with a counter-attacking 89 on Day 1 of the third Test against Pakistan at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Thursday, October 24, 2024. Getty Images

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  Gus Atkinson's 39 played a crucial role in taking England's score to 267. AP

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  Gus Atkinson, left, and Jamie Smith rescued England from 118-6 in Rawalpindi. AP

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  Pakistan spinner Sajid Khan picked up six wickets on Thursday. AFP

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  Sajid Khan celebrates the wicket of England's Harry Brook for five. AFP

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  Pakistan's Kamran Ghulam is bowled by England pacer Gus Atkinson for just three. AP

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  Jack Leach, centre, celebrates with teammates after taking the wicket of Saim Ayub. AP

Excluded from the list were opening batsmen Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq, along with all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz. Zaman had been in the news for the wrong reasons as he took to social media in favour of former captain Babar after he was dropped for the two Tests against England.

Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Mohsin Naqvi revealed Zaman had a fitness issue and also that he had not responded to the cricket board’s query about his message on social media castigating the board.

“Definitely there’s an issue with his tweet, but more importantly he didn’t clear the fitness test,” Naqvi said. “If selection committee is not considering any player, it doesn’t mean a player starts tweeting, it’s not allowed.”

Below is the list of the 25 centrally contracted Pakistan players. The contracts were offered under the new structure agreed last year that saw players' remuneration more than double in some categories.

Pakistan cricketers salary

Category A

Babar Azam: 4.5 million Pakistani rupees per month ($16,200 per month)

Mohammad Rizwan: $16,200 per month

Category B

Naseem Shah: 3 million rupees per month ($10,800 per month)

Shaheen Afridi: $10,800 per month

Shan Masood: $10,800 per month

Category C

Abdullah Shafique: 1.75 million rupees per month ($6,300 per month)

Abrar Ahmed: $6,300 per month

Noman Ali: $6,300 per month

Saim Ayub: $6,300 per month

Haris Rauf: $6,300 per month

Salman Ali Agha: $6,300 per month

Sajid Khan: $6,300 per month

Saud Shakeel: $6,300 per month

Shadab Khan: $6,300 per month

Category D

Aamir Jamal, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Hurraira, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Haseebullah, Kamran Ghulam and Usman Khan - all on 500,000 rupees per month ($1,800 per month)