The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is set to introduce a new format-based central contract system for the 2026-27 cycle, offering substantial pay hikes to its centrally contracted cricketers. Players in the newly created red-ball Track A category are expected to be the biggest beneficiaries.
New Contract Structure
According to a reliable PCB source, a committee comprising white-ball head coach Mike Hesson and red-ball head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed has finalized draft contracts for the upcoming cycle. The PCB has placed special emphasis on rewarding players who feature regularly in Test cricket.
Match fees for Test cricketers are expected to rise to around 1.5 million PKR, up from 800,000 PKR in the previous contracts. Their monthly retainer will be in the range of 4 million PKR before taxes.
Format-Based Categories
This is the first time the PCB has introduced format-based central contracts. Players selected in both Track A (Test cricket) and Track B (white-ball formats) are expected to be among the highest earners. Apart from match fees, they are likely to receive monthly retainers of around 4.8 to 5 million PKR.
Performance Incentives
The board has also proposed attractive performance-based incentives. According to the source, players will receive a 500 percent bonus on their match fees if Pakistan wins an ICC tournament, while winning an Asian-level event such as the Asia Cup would bring a 300 percent bonus.
Other Categories
The source revealed details of other categories:
- Track B (ODIs and T20Is only): Monthly retainers up to 1.8 million PKR.
- Track C (T20 cricket and franchise leagues only): Monthly retainers ranging from 1.2 million to 1.5 million PKR.
Controversy Over Transparency
Interestingly, the PCB is also considering not making public the names and categories of centrally contracted players. If implemented, it would be a first in Pakistan cricket and has already attracted criticism from some quarters.
The PCB has not yet announced how many players will receive central contracts under the new format-based system.
