According to reports, Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan has reportedly taken a firm stand by refusing to sign the latest central contract offered by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
He is the only one among the 30 contracted players who has not yet signed the 2025-26 central contract offered by the PCB. His refusal comes amid his demotion—both in terms of his captaincy role (he was replaced as ODI captain by Shaheen Shah Afridi) and his non-selection in the T20I team.
The PCB’s new contract structure has abolished the previous “Category A” tier. Rizwan, along with others, has been placed in Category B. The latest development comes days ahead of Pakistan's ODI series against South Africa starting on November 3. However, Rizwan remains part of the squad. He was recently involved in Pakistan's two-match Test series against South Africa, which was levelled 1-1.
Pakistan men’s centrally contracted cricketers
Category B: Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shadab Khan and Shaheen Shah Afridi
Category C: Abdullah Shafique, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Sahibzada Farhan, Sajid Khan, and Saud Shakeel
Category D: Ahmed Daniyal, Hussain Talat, Khurram Shahzad, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Salman Mirza, Shan Masood, and Sufiyan Muqeem