PCB announces women’s central contracts list for 2020-21 season

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced the central contracts for the women’s cricketers for the season 2020-21, which will come into effect from July 1. Nine players have been included in the list with Bismah Maroof and Javeria Khan being placed in Category A. Aliya Riaz, Diana Baig and Sidra Nawaz are placed in Category B. Maroof, Khan and Baig got promotions.

Anam Amin, Nahida Khan, Nida Dar, who has been demoted, and Omaima Sohail are in Category C. Players in Category A, B and C will get a pay rise of 33, 30 and 25 per cent respectively. 10 other players are there in the emerging contracts list for the same period. The Pakistan women’s cricketers will continue to travel in business class on flights, which are longer then five hours.

Pakistan’s head coach’s contract won’t be renewed

The domestic pay has been increased significantly. The match fee and event prize money have been increased by 100 per cent even as daily allowances have been increased by 50 per cent. The PCB has also decided to retain Maroof as their captain till the end of the 2020-21 season. The Pakistan board has been making efforts to bring the women’s game in line with men’s cricket.

Head coach Iqbal Imam’s contract won’t be renewed and his replacement will be made through an advertisement process. Among the emerging players, Ayesha Naseem made her debut  in the recent T20 World Cup in Australia. Sadia Iqbal made her debut against Bangladesh in a T20I in October.

“The selection committee had detailed deliberations prior to announcing the central contracts. International performances over the past 12 months, fitness standards and the players’ ability to contribute in both white ball formats were key measures that formed the criteria for the selection,” Urooj Mumtaz, the chair of the national women’s selection committee, said.

Women’s central contract list 2020-21:

Category A – Bismah Maroof and Javeria Khan

Category B – Aliya Riaz, Diana Baig and Sidra Nawaz

Category C – Anam Amin, Nahida Khan, Nida Dar and Omaima Sohail.

Women’s emerging contract list 2020-21: Ayesha Naseem, Fatima Sana, Kainat Hafeez, Muneeba Ali Siddiqui, Najiha Alvi, Rameen Shamim, Saba Nazir, Sadia Iqbal and Syeda Aroob Shah