Karachi: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has dismissed speculation about changes in leadership roles, calling reports of Shan Masood being replaced as Test captain and Mohammad Rizwan losing the ODI captaincy “baseless.”
According to Geo Super, PCB insiders confirmed that there had been no discussions about handing the Test captaincy to Saud Shakeel or replacing Rizwan with Salman Ali Agha as ODI skipper, despite Rizwan’s exclusion from the Asia Cup 2025 squad.
No Player in Category A
The clarification came just days after the PCB released its updated central contracts list for July 2025–June 2026, which saw some surprising changes. For the first time, no player was placed in Category A, the board’s top bracket. Instead, 10 players each were placed in Categories B, C, and D, expanding the pool to 30 players compared to 27 last year.
Among the most notable changes:
- Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan were downgraded to Category B following poor performances in the 2024 T20 World Cup, the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy, and bilateral series against Bangladesh and West Indies.
- T20 captain Salman Ali Agha earned a promotion from Category C to B.
- Saim Ayub and Haris Rauf also received upgrades.
New Faces in Contracts
Twelve fresh players entered the contracts list this year, including Ahmed Daniyal, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Mirza, and Sufyan Moqim.
Meanwhile, nine players retained their positions from last season. The PCB has not disclosed the financial value of the contracts.
By clarifying the captaincy rumours, the board aimed to stabilize the atmosphere around Pakistan cricket at a time when both form and leadership have come under scrutiny.
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