PCB likely to promote Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Ali to B category

• Fakhar, Hasan likely to get B category in Pakistan Cricket Board contracts.
• Zaman's performance in recent ODI and T20 series in South Africa said to give him a boost in the contract list. 
• He is currently holding a C category contract with the PCB.

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Cricket Board is likely to promote cricketers Fakhar Zaman and Hasan Ali to the B category when it announces contracts for 2021-22 before the England tour, The News reported Thursday.

The publication quoted a source as saying that Zaman's promotion may be because of his "exceptional" performance in the recent ODI and T20 series in South Africa. He is currently holding a C category.

Hasan Ali may get the A or B category, the source said, adding the B category is most likely. Ali missed the cut last year because of an injury. 

Read more: Major changes expected in central contracts of Pakistani cricketers

Pakistan are facing heavy international commitments in the months to come as the PSL will be followed by a white-ball cricket tour to England. The national cricketers will fly straight from England to West Indies to play two Test matches and five-match T20Is.

Pakistan then have to feature in the World Cup T20, a series against Afghanistan and home series against West Indies, New Zealand, and England.

We are busy with PSL and once we settle down, a series of meetings will be held between team management, chief selector and the PCB officials to decide on the contracts, the source said.

What else can we expect from the PCB contracts?

Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Azam, former captain Azhar Ali and star fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi will continue to stay in the elite A Category.

The source said Haris Sohail (Balochistan- B category), Iftikhar Ahmed (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa- C category) and Usman Shinwari (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa- C category) may struggle to retain their places.

"There are good chances that Abid Ali (Central Punjab), Sarfraz Ahmed (Sindh), Shadab Khan (Northern), and Yasir Shah (Balochistan) will retain their places in category A for the next year," the publication reported.

Read more: PCB elevates Mohammad Rizwan to category A, Fawad Alam to category C of central contracts

It remains unclear if Mohammad Hafeez will accept the category C contract or not. He was given the offer during a reshuffle a few months back and had turned it down.

Haris Rauf (Northern) and Mohammad Hasnain (Sindh) who were named in the Emerging category last year may get full contract this time, the source said, adding that both players have been representing Pakistan in limited-overs formats in recent times.

Mohammad Nawaz, too, is likely to be included in the contracts list while Haider Ali, who failed to live up to the expectations during the whole year, may be left out.

The PCB may also give some weightage to cricketers’ performance during the remaining PSL VI matches.