Former Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed receives promotion in PCB's revised central contracts list

Lahore: Former Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed has been given a promotion in the revised central contracts after being placed in category D when the contracts were announced before the World Cup. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said on Friday that the wicketkeeper-batsman had been promoted to category B after a thorough review of the contracts list which were initially finalised by captain Babar Azam, chief Selector Inzamam-ul-Haq and head coach Mickey Arthur before chairman Zaka Ashraf approved them. The PCB also added five additional players to the men’s central contracts list, bringing the total number of players offered contracts to 30. The three-year contracts deal, announced last month, runs from 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2026. The previous 25-man list of players was finalised by the Najam Sethi-led management committee but the new management committee led by Ashraf had decided to review the list. The new inductions include Abrar Ahmed (Category C), Noman Ali (Category C), Tayyab Tahir (Category D), Aamir Jamal (Category D) and Arshad Iqbal (Category D). Sarfaraz is at present Pakistan’s first-choice wicket-keeper batter in the red-ball format. He made his comeback to the Test side in December last year and has amassed 367 runs across four matches at an average of 61.16. The 36-year-old was named player of the series for his three half-centuries and one century in four innings against New Zealand at home. Abrar and Noman, placed in Category C, have been regular in Pakistan’s Test team over the past year. Mystery spinner Abrar has picked up 38 wickets in six matches since making his debut against England in Multan while left-arm spinner Noman has taken 17 wickets in four games over the last 12 months. The revised contracts list: Category A: Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Shah Afridi Category B: Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Shadab Khan Category C: Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Imad Wasim and Noman Ali Category D: Aamir Jamal, Arshad Iqbal, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Ihsanullah, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel, Shahnawaz Dahani, Shan Masood, Tayyab Tahir, Usama Mir and Zaman Khan.