PCB Central Contracts Still Unsigned Three Months Into The Term

PCB central contracts for 2026-27 remain unsigned. The term they cover began on 1 July. It is now into its fourth month. The Express Tribune reported on Saturday that the board has again put off the announcement. The preliminary list of players is being reworked after the tour of England. The board itself has confirmed nothing.

A year already a quarter gone

Players have toured the West Indies and England inside that window. They are paid match fees for those games. The retainer structure meant to sit underneath those fees has not been settled. Nothing has been signed.

The delay followed Pakistan's results in England, according to the same report. That tour included a whitewash. The board had briefed players on the plan in July, before the squad left. Changes to the names on the list are now expected.

The list and the scoring

The reported process is unusually mechanical for a board contract round.

• A preliminary list of 30 cricketers was drawn up
• Software supplied by an American company assessed domestic and international records across formats
• Selectors then scored players on a 15-point framework covering current form, past performance and future prospects
• A score of 50 to 60 points qualifies a player for a contract
• Roughly Rs 1.1 billion has been set aside for monthly retainers and match fees

NOCs are the real currency

The reported structure pulls a second lever alongside money. Test-contracted players would be refused no-objection certificates for overseas franchise leagues, though red-ball county cricket would stay open to them. Category C players would keep far more freedom to take league work abroad.

Several cricketers are said to want the lower category. The sums behind that preference are large. The Express Tribune put a top-tier annual package at Rs 80 million to Rs 90 million. It reported that Saim Ayub earned Rs 126 million from a single PSL season. A full overseas league calendar was put at Rs 200 million or more.

Senior categories would carry duties too. Players in those bands would have to meet a minimum number of international appearances. They would also have to turn out in domestic cricket. Category D, covering emerging players, would be exempt from the international requirement.

Figures that have already moved

Treat the numbers with care. An earlier round of reporting in June described a similar track-based system but with materially different monthly retainers in the middle bands. The two versions cannot both be current. Either the proposal has been revised since June, or one set of figures was wrong.

Mohammad Rizwan and Shan Masood are among those reported to face demotion when the list is finalised. The PCB has published no categories, no names and no date. Until it does, every figure above belongs to the outlets that reported it.