Pakistan Cricket Central Contract issues resolved, players to earn share of ICC revenue

After rounds of stalemate, it’s a resounding win for Babar Azam & Co ahead of ODI World Cup. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has agreed to share part of ICC revenue share with the players. It is a historic win as players will stand a chance to earn in millions. In exchange, the board will retain the right to grant NOC to players to play in T20 leagues.

Ahead of departure for World Cup, Pakistan captain Babar Azam met with PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf at his residence to discuss the contract. Pakistan players have been playing without any central contract for the last four months.

“It is by far a historic deal. I am extremely happy and satisfied that we have reached an agreement with the PCB. It has been a lengthy and, at times, challenging negotiation process, but I believe we have reached a fair and beneficial agreement for both parties,” Babar Azam said.

To solve the deadlock, PCB appointed Inzamam Ul Haq, the chief selector as the mediator between the two parties. Babar Azam has been representing the players in this negotiation process. And at the last moment, players reached an agreement with the board. While the players haven’t put pen to paper, they have agreed in principle and will sign the contract after returning from World Cup.

Under the new contract terms, Category A cricketers like Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi, and Mohammad Rizwan will receive a monthly payment of PKR 4.5 million, while Category B players will receive PKR 3 million. Players in the remaining two categories will receive monthly payments ranging from PKR 1.5 to 0.7 million. Furthermore, the board informed the players about a 10% deduction for taxes.

Pakistan Cricket Central Contract

In the new contract, centrally contracted players will earn 3% of the ICC revenue share for PCB.
PCB will earn $34.51 million from ICC revenue share. Hence, $1.03 million will be shared between the players.
As per Cricket Pakistan report, Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi and Mohammad Rizwan will earn PKR 45 lakh monthly as they are in Category A.
Category B players will earn PKR 30 lakh a month.
Players in Category C and D will get a monthly payment ranging between PKR 15 lakh to 7 lakh.
The revenue share will be on top of the monthly income which has increased by 50% in Tests, 25% in ODIs and 12.5% in T20Is.

No clarity on NOC

However, there is no clarity on the NOC (No Objection Certificate) for players wanting to play in franchise leagues. Currently, Inzamam Ul Haq, who also has a players’ agency, is formulating a policy for NOC.

Earlier, players players demanded at least two NOCs per year. It would have allowed them to earn lucrative sums in the ILT20, SA20 or BBL. But after the Asia Cup defeat, PCB has an upper hand.

Even Pakistan Super League franchises have opposed issuing NOCs to players to protect interest of PSL. Hence, the PCB will formulate an NOC policy in the coming days. To note, Shaheen Afridi has signed a lucrative contract with Desert Vipers in the ILT20.

PCB Central Contract 2023-26

Category A: Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Afridi
Category B: Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Imam Ul Haq, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah and Shadab Khan
Category C: Imad Wasim and Abdullah Shafique
Category D: Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Ihsan Ullah, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmad, Saud Shakeel, Shahnawaz Dahani, Shan Masood, Usama Mir and Zaman Khan

Cricket ICC World Cup Pakistan Cricket Team