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.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
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.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Azam and Rizwan have both been demoted to category B contracts, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"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.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
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.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
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.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The national team's recent performances in all three formats of the game have fallen badly.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
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.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The slump has also resulted in Pakistan Test captain Shan Masood being demoted from category B to D.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
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.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
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.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The tri-series, also involving Afghanistan and the United Arab Emirates, starts from August 29 in Sharjah, followed by the Asia Cup in Dubai.<\/p>\r\n", "image": "https:\/\/img.cricketnmore.com\/uploads\/2025\/08\/babar-azam-and-mohammad-rizwan1.jpg", "alt_img": "Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan Demoted In Contracts As Pakistan Scrap A Category", "alt_title": "Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan Demoted In Contracts As Pakistan Scrap A Category", "image1": null, "video": null, "seo_title": "Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan Demoted In Contracts As Pakistan Scrap A Category On Cricketnmore", "seo_desc": "Pakistan demoted former captains Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan on Tuesday in a contract review that scrapped the top category, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan Demoted In Contracts As Pakistan Scrap A Category.", "seo_keywords": "Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, PCB, Pakistan Cricket Team", "tag": null, "tagging": "Babar Azam,Mohammad Rizwan,Pakistan Cricket Team,", "status": "1", "img_rpt": "0", "google": "1", "standout": "0", "edapps": "0", "pulse": "0", "no_index": "0", "feed": "0", "fixture": null, "slug": "babar-azam-mohammad-rizwan-demoted-in-contracts-as-pakistan-scrap-a-category", "user_id": "0", "read_count": "1", "ians_date": null, "ians_time": null, "server_time": null, "trash": "0", "view_count": "764", "page_break": "0", "instant_articles": "1", "auto_link": "1", "created": "2025-08-19 17:33:17", "updated": "2025-08-19 17:33:17", "img_from": "Image Source: Twitter", "img_source": null, "schedule_publish": null, "news_keywords": "Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, PCB, Pakistan Cricket Team", "livescore_text": null, "livescore_link": null, "btn_text": null, "resend_feed": "0", "google_feed": "0", "read_more": "1", "posted_by": "13", "jio_date": "2025-08-19 17:33:17", "scheduled": "0", "news_now": "1", "breaking_news": "1", "google_date": null, "featured": "0", "pred_match_id": "Select", "article_content_type": null, "link": "https:\/\/www.cricketnmore.com\/cricket-news\/babar-azam-mohammad-rizwan-demoted-in-contracts-as-pakistan-scrap-a-category-176067" }