Cricket Dec 07, 2025

Pakistan cricket: Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Shan Masood and Naseem Shah have central contracts downgraded

👤
By Admin
Sports Journalist
Pakistan cricket: Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Shan Masood and Naseem Shah have central contracts downgraded

Pakistan have downgraded the central contracts of Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Test captain Shan Masood.

Babar and Rizwan, left out of the squad for the T20 international Asia Cup in the United Arab Emirates from September 9-28, have been relegated from the A band of deals to category B.

Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson recently said Babar, who has not played a T20I since December 2024, "had been asked to improve in some areas around taking on spin and in terms of his strike rate."

No players have been placed in the A category in a set of contracts that run until June 30, 2026.

Masood has dropped from band B to the lowest tier in band D after Pakistan finished bottom of the 2023-25 World Test Championship.

Masood steered his nation to a 2-1 victory over England last October but they were then subsequently beaten 2-0 in South Africa before drawing 1-1 at home to West Indies.

The left-hander's record as Test skipper reads played 12, won three, lost nine.

Seam bowler Naseem Shah has dropped from category B to category C, although the upgrades from C to B include leg-spinners Shadab Khan and Abrar Ahmed and fast bowler Haris Rauf.

Category B: Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Rizwan, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi.

Category C: Abdullah Shafique, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Sahibzada Farhan, Sajid Khan, Saud Shakeel

Category D: Ahmed Daniyal, Hussain Talat, Khurram Shahzad, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Salman Mirza, Shan Masood, Sufiyan Muqeem

Tags:

cricket news id:13414470

Share this article

Related Posts

England Ashes review: Past captains question accountability for series defeat after Brendon McCullum, Rob Key avoid ECB sacking

England Ashes review: Past captains question accountability for series defeat after Brendon McCullum, Rob Key avoid ECB sacking

Former England captain Michael Atherton believes fans will find it ‘extraordinary’ that no jobs were lost for ‘mistakes’ made during their heavy Ashes...

IPL squads 2026: Jos Buttler, Jofra Archer, Phil Salt and Liam Livingstone among England players signed

IPL squads 2026: Jos Buttler, Jofra Archer, Phil Salt and Liam Livingstone among England players signed

Here's how the Indian Premier League squads look for the 2026 season, with Jos Buttler and Jofra Archer among the English players involved.English pla...

England Ashes review: Rob Key on Brendon McCullum, Harry Brook's incident in Wellington and England lessons in Australia

England Ashes review: Rob Key on Brendon McCullum, Harry Brook's incident in Wellington and England lessons in Australia

ECB managing director Rob Key discusses England's Ashes disappointment, how Brendon McCullum can evolve and whether the team has a drinking problem fo...

England Test cricket contenders: Ollie Robinson, Asa Tribe, Sam Cook, Calvin Harrison, James Rew, Rehan Ahmed

England Test cricket contenders: Ollie Robinson, Asa Tribe, Sam Cook, Calvin Harrison, James Rew, Rehan Ahmed

Ahead of the County Championship season from Good Friday, we look at some of the players looking to press their England Test claims for the series at...

England vow to re-engage with county cricket as new season offers hope to Haseeb Hameed, Sam Cook and more

England vow to re-engage with county cricket as new season offers hope to Haseeb Hameed, Sam Cook and more

"I think the gap is as wide as it has ever been."Sussex head coach and former England assistant Paul Farbrace could have been talking about where is...

England men cricket fixtures and results 2026: T20 World Cup, plus games vs India, Pakistan, New Zealand and more

England men cricket fixtures and results 2026: T20 World Cup, plus games vs India, Pakistan, New Zealand and more

Full fixtures for England's men's side in 2026, including the T20 World Cup, home white-ball series against India and away Test tour of South Africa....