The Pakistan Cricket Board on Wednesday announced new central contracts for the year 2017-18 (July 1, 2017- June 30, 2018) for 35 players in four categories.
Various youngsters have been included in the list of contracted players, while promotions and demotions have been carried out on basis of performance and fitness of players.
"The Central Contracts were awarded after keeping in mind the performances, fitness, and discipline of the players," said a statement from the PCB.
"A number of young players have been awarded Central Contracts this year keeping in mind that the teams in all formats will be going through a transitionary period after a number of retirements," the statement added.
According to the new list, Mohammad Amir has been promoted from B category to A category; Wahab Riaz has been demoted from B to C category, while Imad Wasim and Hasan Ali have been promoted from C to B category.
Umar Akmal was not offered the central contract by the PCB.
Players currently suspended due to the PSL spot-fixing inquiry were also omitted from the list of the contracted players.
However, Mohammad Nawaz, who was suspended for two months in May for failing to report a corrupt approach, has been offered a category D contract.
"As per the understanding [by] players and the PCB, the monthly retainers for all categories are increased by 10%," said the PCB.
Six players have been included in category A, four in category B, 11 in category C and 14 in category D.
Following is the list of players who have been awarded the new central contract:
Category A: Sarfraz Ahmed, Azhar Ali, Shoaib Malik, Yasir Shah, Mohammad Hafeez and Mohammad Amir.
Category B: Babar Azam, Imad Wasim, Asad Shafiq and Hasan Ali.
Category C: Wahab Riaz, Rahat Ali, Haris Sohail, Sami Aslam, Shan Masood, Sohail Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Junaid Khan, Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Abbas and Shadab Khan.
Category D: Mohammad Nawaz, Asif Zakir, Usman Salahuddin, Aamer Yamin, Usman Shinwari, Fahim Ashraf, Rumman Raees, Imam-ul-Haq, Bilal Asif, Mir Hamza, Umar Amin, Mohammad Hassan, Mohammad Asghar and Mohammad Irfan.
Salaries:
Category A: Rs 650,000
Category B: Rs 450,000
Category C: Rs 260,000
Category D: Rs 179,000
