PCB to introduce formats-based central contracts

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Monday announced to introduce a player contract system which will be ‘formats based’, more reliant on data analytics than human analysis in player selections and offer better financial returns to the cricketers than before

LAHORE, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 16th Jun, 2026) The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Monday announced to introduce a player contract system which will be ‘formats based’, more reliant on data analytics than human analysis in player selections and offer better financial returns to the cricketers than before.

In a media release PCB gave the following salient features of the new system.

A WORLD-FIRST IN PLAYER CONTRACTING:

PCB claims to have designed a structure that places Pakistan at the forefront of how the modern game is administered worldwide. Pakistan is among the first in international cricket to build a contract framework that formally recognises the modern reality of the game: that the three formats now demand fundamentally different commitments, and that players increasingly specialise.

As the global game continues to evolve, the traditional single-list model — where a Test specialist and a T20 franchise player are measured for the same grade — is increasingly out of step with how cricketers actually build their careers. Pakistan has chosen to lead that evolution, replacing the one-size-fits-all approach with a system that openly defines, prioritises, and protects each format on its own terms. This is not a cosmetic change to pay grades. It is a structural answer to the single hardest question in modern cricket administration: how do you keep Test cricket strong in an age of franchise T20, while treating every kind of cricketer fairly?

THE HEADLINE: FORMAT, FORMALISED:

The defining feature of the new framework is that format commitment is now explicit and structural — not a matter of selectorial mood or informal understanding.

Every contracted player is aligned to a defined format pathway. Some pathways centre on the red-ball game; others on white-ball or T20 cricket. A player's pathway determines what the board asks of them, and what the board offers in return. The choice is visible, it is documented, and it carries real consequences — which is precisely what gives it value.

Crucially, the framework prioritises and deprioritises formats deliberately and transparently:

Test cricket is actively protected. Because the longest format offers players the least earning opportunity outside national duty, the framework is deliberately weighted to reward those who commit to it — so that choosing red-ball cricket for Pakistan is a choice the system supports, not one a player makes at a personal cost.

• White-ball and T20 specialisation is recognised, not penalised. A player whose value to Pakistan is in the shorter formats now has a clear, respected pathway — with league freedoms that reflect the realities of the modern game — rather than being measured against criteria built for a different kind of cricketer.

• No format is left undefined. Every pathway carries its own obligations and its own opportunities, each calibrated to the market reality of that format. This is the formalisation of format prioritisation — and it is what makes the framework genuinely new on the world stage.

FROM FOUR GRADES TO FIVE FORMAT TRACKS:

The old system sorted players into A, B, C and D categories — grades that said only how much a player was paid, never what kind of cricketer they were. The new framework replaces those grades with five clearly defined tracks, each built around a format commitment rather than a pay rank.

Track AB — Dual Format (Test & ODI). Pakistan's premier multi-format cricketers — the players who carry both the Test and one-day sides. This is the board's highest commitment tier. An AB player can still be selected for a T20I, and when they are, they play and are recognised for it — but the board does not regard an AB cricketer as a short-format player. That call is only made when selection options require it, never as a default.

Track A — Red-Ball Specialist (Test). The dedicated Test cricketers. This track exists to recognise and protect players who give themselves to the longest format, and it carries permissions designed to keep them playing red-ball cricket at the highest level.

Track BC — White-Ball (ODI & T20I). The core white-ball track, for players whose value to Pakistan is across the limited-overs game. This is where most white-ball cricketers will sit, and it absorbs what used to be a separate ODI category.

Track C — T20I & Franchise Specialist. The dedicated short-format players, with the greatest freedom to pursue franchise cricket around their national commitments — a formal, respected recognition of T20 specialisation.

Track D — Development / NCA. A development track for the next generation, investing in young players through the National Cricket Academy and the wider high-performance system.

Two principles sit across the framework. First, a player is only ever measured against others in the same track — never against someone playing a different format. Second, each senior track has two internal tiers, so a player's standing within their track can rise or fall year to year on performance alone, without anyone having to change the format they have committed to. The Development track is a single tier, reflecting its role as an entry pathway.

The board will not be disclosing how many contracts sit within each track. The number and distribution of contracts is a selection matter, reviewed each cycle, and not a fixed public figure.

A FIRST FOR PAKISTAN'S TEST PLAYERS:

One feature of the new framework deserves particular attention, because it reframes how a board can support the longest format.

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For the first time, Pakistan's dedicated Test specialists are being granted permission to play overseas first-class cricket — in the premier red-ball competitions of the world's leading nations.

This is the opposite of sending players away to the shorter game. It is a deliberate investment in red ball quality: a Test cricketer who spends time in the most demanding first-class environments returns sharper, harder to dislodge, and better prepared for Pakistan. The permission is for red-ball cricket only — franchise T20 leagues remain closed to this group — and it makes the message unmistakable. Pakistan is not just protecting Test cricket on paper; it is actively building the conditions for its Test players to be the best in the world at what they do.

WHY PAKISTAN HAS DONE THIS:

Pakistan operates in one of world cricket's most open markets. Its players are in demand across global franchise leagues, and the board has chosen not to fight that reality but to build a system intelligent enough to work within it.

Pakistan's previous category system, in common with the traditional approach across the game, treated all contracted players as a single pool separated only by pay grade. That created two quiet distortions: a strong short-format season could lift a player above a dedicated red-ball cricketer who had served the longest format loyally, and a committed Test player had no clear route to recognition without white-ball visibility. The new framework removes both distortions at once by judging players only against others who have made the same format commitment.

The result is a system built on a simple principle: clarity is fairness. When every player knows their pathway, knows what is asked of them, and knows how they are assessed, the board's decisions become explainable and defensible — and the players' choices become their own.

"Every cricket board in the world is grappling with the same question: how do you keep Test cricket strong in the age of the franchise game? At Pakistan, we have chosen to answer it with structure rather than words. I am proud that this framework puts us at the front of that thinking — and I believe it points to a direction the wider game will move toward in the years ahead." — Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi, Chairman, Pakistan Cricket Board

HOW PLAYERS QUALIFY: A THREE-GATE PROCESS:

Selection for a central contract now runs through a clear, sequential three-gate process. Each gate must be cleared before the next is considered. The gates are:

Gate 1 — Medical & Fitness. A thorough medical and fitness assessment that comes before any contract decision. This is one of the most player-first features of the framework: rather than a box-ticking formality, it is a genuine investment in players' long-term health, catching problems early and lengthening careers. The same principle extends beyond contracting — a player must also be medically cleared before being released to play any league cricket, so that fitness to play always comes first. The board is putting player welfare at the very front of its decision-making.

Gate 2 — Domestic Participation. A requirement that contracted players remain active in the domestic game, keeping Pakistan's domestic cricket strong and its players match-ready.

Gate 3 — Performance Assessment. A structured, format-specific evaluation of a player's performance and standing within their own pathway.

The board will not be publishing the internal thresholds, weightings, or scoring detail that sit behind these gates. These are operational selection tools, and — as with selection itself — the board retains the discretion to apply them with appropriate judgement on a case-by-case basis. What matters for the public is the principle: every player travels the same path, in the same order, and every contract decision is documented and reviewable.

A SYSTEM BUILT ON ACCOUNTABILITY:

Beyond format, the framework is designed to make contract decisions more transparent and more defensible than ever before. Assessment is structured rather than impressionistic, the process is documented, and no single individual's preference determines an outcome. Players are recognised for the commitment they make and the cricket they play — and the board can stand behind every decision it takes.

"We owe our players clarity, and we owe our supporters accountability. This system delivers both. Every player will know exactly where they stand and what is expected of them, and every decision we make can be explained and defended. That is how it should be." — Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi, Chairman, Pakistan Cricket Board

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR PAKISTAN CRICKET:

For Test cricket: a financial and structural commitment that makes choosing the red-ball game a sustainable choice for a Pakistani cricketer.

For the domestic game: contracted players kept active and visible in domestic competition, strengthening the pipeline beneath the national side.

For players: clarity about their pathway, their obligations, and how they are judged — and a system that treats specialists in every format with equal respect.

For the public: a more transparent, more accountable selection process, and a national set-up built for the modern game rather than the one that existed a decade ago.

Pakistan has not adjusted an old system. It has built a new one — and in doing so has taken a leading role in shaping how the modern game can be administered.