ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced on Sunday it was awarding central contracts to five emerging cricketers while demoting big names Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf, based on a string of lackluster performances.
The PCB awards annual contracts to cricketers divided into categories A, B, C and D. These contracts provide cricketers with a fixed monthly salary, match fees and other benefits.
The board announced in its latest statement that it had awarded central contracts to 25 players. Star batter Babar Azam has been retained in the A category with Muhammad Rizwan while Afridi, once the leader of Pakistan’s lethal pace attack, has been demoted to category B from A.
“As part of the PCB’s strategy to incentivize, encourage and reward talented and emerging cricketers, five players have been offered central contracts for the first time,” the board said.
“They are Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Ali, Muhammad Irfan Khan and Usman Khan.”
Azam has been retained in the top category despite a string of poor performances. The cricketer was dropped from Pakistan’s second and third test matches against England after he failed to score a fifty in over eight test matches on the trot.
An out-of-form Afridi has been unable to perform for Pakistan. The left-arm fast bowler was also dropped after Pakistan’s humiliating loss to England in the first test match in Multan. The development also takes place amid local media reports of Afridi being involved in disputes with Azam and former Pakistani selector Mohammad Yousuf.
Fiery Pakistani pacer Rauf has also been demoted to category C from B while white-ball regular Fakhar Zaman has not been awarded any contract.
Zaman made headlines earlier this month when he publicly expressed concern at the PCB’s decision to drop Azam after the first England Test. In a post on social media platform X, Zaman said the PCB’s move could send a “deeply negative message” across the team.
Pakistan’s test captain Shan Masood, meanwhile, has been granted a category B contract subject to him retaining his captaincy. Pakistani cricketers Sajid Khan, Noman Ali and Salman Ali Agha, who put in impressive performances against England, have been awarded category C contracts.
Pakistan Cricket Board demotes pacer Afridi, awards contracts to five emerging players
https://arab.news/muf5f
Pakistan Cricket Board demotes pacer Afridi, awards contracts to five emerging players
- Shaheen Afridi demoted to category B after lackluster performances, reports of disputes with colleagues
- Fakhar Zaman loses out on central contract while pacer Haris Rauf has been demoted to category C
Pakistan stocks hit record high on hopes of rate cut, improved US ties
- Benchmark index gains 2,662 points, or 1.44 percent, to close at an all-time high of 187,761 points
- Engro, UBL, Hub Power, Fauji Fertilizer, Meezan Bank and Service Industries added 1,554 points to index
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) hit a record high as it surpassed the 187,500-point mark on Monday, with analysts citing improving ties with the United States and expectations of an imminent interest rate cut.
The benchmark KSE-100 index gained 2,662.86 points, or 1.44 percent, to close at an all-time high of 187,761.69 points, up from the previous close of 185,098.83 points, according to PSX data.
The stock gains came a day after President Donald Trump invited Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to join the so-called “Board of Peace” for Gaza, amid increasing Pakistan-US diplomatic and economic engagement since Trump’s rise to presidency.
“Falling government bond yields and improving Pakistan-US relations played a catalyst role in record close at PSX,” Ahsan Mehanti, chief executive officer of Arif Habib Commodities, told Arab News.
Meanwhile, Karachi-based market research firm Topline Securities said bulls extended their rally as hopes of a rate cut by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) fueled investor sentiment.
“Investor sentiment remained upbeat, largely fueled by rising expectations of an imminent interest rate cut,” it said in a post on X. “Market participants increasingly priced in a 50bps reduction in the upcoming monetary policy, which kept buying interest alive and underpinned broad-based gains.”
In December, the SBP cut its key policy rate by 50 basis points to 10.5 percent, resuming monetary easing after four meetings in a move that surprised many despite International Monetary Fund guidance to keep policy “appropriately tight” to anchor inflation expectations.
Engro Holdings Limited (ENGROH), United Bank Limited (UBL), Hub Power Company Limited (HUBC), Fauji Fertilizer Company Limited (FFC), Meezan Bank Limited (MEBL) and Service Industries Limited (SRVI) collectively added 1,554 points to the benchmark index on Monday, according to Topline Securities.
“Total market volumes stood at 1,195 million shares, while the value of shares traded amounted to Rs63.7 billion,” the research firm said. “[Bank Makramah Limited] BML led the volume chart, emerging as the most actively traded stock with 246 million shares.”
