According to reports, several centrally contracted players have requested the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to increase the match fee across all three formats. The match fee for all the categories, except category A has been increased for the 2021-22 season and the players have expressed their displeasure on the disparity.
ALSO READ
Shaheen Afridi Reveals Why Pakistan Has a Strengthened Bowling Attack
Category A players include Pakistan’s all-format captain, Babar Azam, wicket-keeper batsman, Mohammad Rizwan, and fast bowlers, Shaheen Afridi and Hasan Ali. Earlier, PCB had announced that there will be a 25 percent increase in the retainer for category A but there will be no increase in their match fee.
Meanwhile, Category B players witnessed a 15 percent increase in match fee in Test format, 20 percent increase in ODI, and 25 percent increase in T20Is, along with a 25 percent increase in their retainer.
Similarly, Category C and Emerging Category players were also rewarded with a substantial increase in their match fee and retainer.
ALSO READ
ICC Sets Its Eyes on Including Cricket in Los Angeles Olympics 2028
According to various sources, Category A players have approached the PCB and have requested an increase in the match fee. An unnamed senior player recently met with PCB’s Director – International Cricket, Zakir Khan, and requested him to resolve the matter as soon as possible. However, no assurances have been provided by Zakir.
Here is PCB’s central contracts list for the 2021-22 season:
| Category | Players |
| Category A | Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Shaheen Afridi, Hasan Ali |
| Category B | Azhar Ali, Fawad Alam, Faheem Ashraf, Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Yasir Shah |
| Category C | Abid Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Haris Rauf, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Nauman Ali, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz |
| Emerging Category | Imran Butt, Shahnawaz Dahani, Usman Qadir |
First improve performance then ask for increase match fee. I think they are already paid much higher than their performances.