Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz, Hasan Ali lose PCB central contracts
May 13, 2020
Lahore [Pakistan], May 13 : Seam bowling trio of Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali and Wahab Riaz have lost their central contracts as Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced its list for the 2020-21 season on Wednesday.
Amir and Riaz had both retired from the longest format of the game last year citing workload management to extend their limited over careers with Pakistan.
"The selectors have made the tough decisions to leave out Amir, Hasan, and Wahab but considering Hasan missed most of the season due to an injury and Amir and Wahab decided to focus on white-ball cricket, this was the right move," said Misbah-ul-Haq, Pakistan men's national team chief selector and head coach in an official statement.
"However, Amir and Wahab are senior and experienced bowlers and they remain in contention as we believe they can still contribute to the Pakistan men's cricket team and also mentor our young battery of fast bowler," he added.
The PCB in the central contract list which will come into effect from 1 July demoted former skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed from category A to B. Test skipper Azhar Ali and Shaheen Afridi were promoted from category B to A.
The apex body of cricket in Pakistan also created a new 'Emerging Players' category for three upcoming players Haris Rauf, Haider Ali, and Mohammad Hasnain, while Naseem Shah earned a maiden category C contract.
"The philosophy and criteria for this merit-based central contract list was simple and straightforward: the selectors reviewed player performances in the past 12 months and then looked ahead to our team requirements in the forthcoming 12 months," Misbah further stated.
Imam-ul-Haq was demoted from B to C while Yasir Shah who has been a key player in Pakistan Test side slipped from A to B.
Category C witnessed new entrants like Naseem shah and Iftikhar Ahmed who joined Fakhar Zaman, Imad Wasim, Imam, and Usman Shinwari. Also, Mohammad Rizwan and Shan Masood were promoted from C to B.
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).
The team will also lock horns in 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 bilateral series, Pakistan will also feature in the Asia Cup T20 tournament and the ICC T20 Men's World Cup 2020 in Australia.
