The precursory talks pertaining to the new central contracts for the Pakistan men's national cricket team suggest that the players' monthly salaries and fees are set to rise by 10-15%, as per sources.
At the moment, Category A players make 11 Lakh PKR per month, Category B players make 7.5 Lakh PKR, and Category C players make 5.5 Lakh PKR.
The current and ongoing contracts are due to be renewed by June 30, 2022. Sources also suggest that there might be an inclination towards including more younger players in the fray, at the cost of the senior players, including some big names.
Among the big names that are likely to miss out, former captain cum wicketkeeper-batter Sarfaraz Ahmed and veteran leg-spinner Yasir Shah are doing the rounds. They presently have C category and B category contracts, respectively.
Domestic talent and Peshawar Zalmi batter Mohammad Haris may be included in the emerging players' category, owing to his swashbuckling batting performances in the PSL.
It is also likely that Islamabad United's fast-bowling all-rounder Mohammad Wasim Jr, an all-format prospect for the future, and Khushdil Shah, an aggressive left-handed middle-order batter who plays for Multan Sultans, could make inroads into the C category. Both of them were also part of Pakistan's squad for the 2021 ICC T20 World Cup.
The last time such a pay hike announcement was made by Ramiz Raja in September 2021, hours after taking over as PCB Chairman.