KARACHI, Aug 19, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Pakistan demoted former captains Babar Azam 
and Mohammad Rizwan on Tuesday in a contract review that scrapped the top 
category after a string of poor recent results.

There are now no players in the top category A for the first time since the 
system of central contracts was introduced 21 years ago.

Azam and Rizwan have both been demoted to category B contracts, the Pakistan 
Cricket Board (PCB) said.

"We have awarded central contracts to 30 players with 10 each placed in B, C 
and D. Notably, no player has been selected in category A in this cycle," the 
PCB said in a media release, without giving any reason.

Azam and Rizwan are the biggest names in Pakistan cricket but poor 
performances in the past 12 months saw them lose their places in the Twenty20 
international squads announced for a tri-series and the Asia Cup.

Joining Rizwan and Azam in category B are T20I captain Salman Agha, Fakhar 
Zaman, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan and Shaheen 
Shah Afridi.

The national team's recent performances in all three formats of the game have 
fallen badly.

Pakistan beat England in a home Test series 2-1 last year but then lost 2-0 
in South Africa and drew 1-1 at home against a lowly West Indies, finishing 
10th and last in the World Test Championship.

The slump has also resulted in Pakistan Test captain Shan Masood being 
demoted from category B to D.

Pakistan won their first one-day international series in Australia for 22 
years in November and routed South Africa 3-0 but then crashed out in the 
first round of the Champions trophy, an event they co-hosted with Dubai.

They also crashed out of last year's Twenty20 World Cup in the first round 
and lost a recent Twenty20 international series in Bangladesh 2-1.

The tri-series, also involving Afghanistan and the United Arab Emirates, 
starts from August 29 in Sharjah, followed by the Asia Cup in Dubai.