Left-arm fast bowler Mohammad Amir was on Wednesday awarded the Category A contract by the Pakistan Cricket Board and the board confirmed this in a statement issued.
“The central contracts were awarded after keeping in mind the performances, fitness, and discipline of the players,” the PCB said.
Apart from Amir, batsman Babar Azam, fast bowler Hasan Ali and all-rounder Imad Wasim moved to category B from C. The PCB awarded the contracts to 35 players that included 14 new faces in the list. While Fakhar Zaman and Shadab Khan were included in the tally, Umar Akmal and Mohammad Irfan were axed from the list. Left-arm fast bowler Wahab Riaz and Rahat Ali were demoted to Category C from B while Mohammad Nawaz and Mohammad Rizwan were made to drop to category D.
Amir, Fakhar Zaman and Babar Azam were the part of Pakistan squad that won the Champions Trophy 2017 under the leadership of Safraz Ahmed. Chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq and head coach Mickey Arthur were in the committee which recommended the 35 cricketers for central contracts and the list was approved by PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan.
Category A: Azhar Ali, Shoaib Malik, Sarfraz Ahmed, Yasir Shah, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Amir
Category B: Babar Azam, Imad Wasim, Asad Shafiq, Hasan Ali
Category C: Wahab Riaz, Rahat Ali, Haris Sohail, Sami Aslam, Shan Masood, Sohail Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Junaid Khan, Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Abbas, Shadab Khan
Category D: Mohammad Nawaz, Asif Zakir, Usman Salahuddin, Amir Yamin, Usman Shinwari, Fahim Ashraf, Ruman Raees, Imamul Haq, Bilal Asif, Mir Hamza, Umar Amin, Mohammad Hasan, Mohammad Asghar, Mohammad Rizwan