The list of central contracts for the senior national women’s cricket team has finally been made public by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) after several weeks of rumors. Similar to the previous year, PCB has chosen to give central contracts to 20 players who fall into four categories: A, B, C, and D. The ‘D’ category is for newcomers. It’s interesting to note that the new contracts will have a 23-month validity period rather than the customary one-year duration. The period will last from August 1, 2023, until June 30, 2025.
The performance of the players would be evaluated after a year, according to a PCB announcement.
In Karachi, where they are now preparing for a white-ball series against South Africa, 19 players signed the contracts. Eyman Fatima signed the contract in Lahore even though she won’t be playing in the Proteas series with the team.
Sidra Ameen, who is renowned for her aggressive batting, was promoted from the C category to the A category, replacing former captain Bismah Maroof and current captain Nida Dar. Muneeba Ali reached the B division as well. Ayesha Naseem, who just announced her retirement, was removed from the list, and Diana Baig and Aliya Riaz were each downgraded to the B and C categories. Since she was dealing with a few injuries, Baig was forced to sit out for the majority of last year.
Four players have received their first central contracts: Anoosha Nasir, Eyman Fatima, Shawaal Zulfiqar, and Umm-e-Hani. They’re assigned to Group D. Tuba Hassan, Sadaf Shamas, Najiha Alvi, and Syeda Aroob Shah are the other four players in category D. All four of them have contracts again after losing them in the previous cycle. Syeda led Pakistan at the Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup earlier this year, for the uninitiated. Last year, she came close to signing a deal, but she has since rebounded.
According to the new deal, retainers would increase by 32%, while match money for ODIs and T20Is will increase by 100% and 50%, respectively.
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