LAHORE (Web Desk) – Pakistan Cricket Board has announced central contracts for the season 2020-21. Nine women cricketers, including spinner Anam Amin and Omaima Sohail, have been included in the central contract with effect from July 1. On the other hand, Bismah Maroof, Javeria Khan and Diana Baig’s have been promoted on the back of excellent performances.
In this regard, the PCB has increased the compensation of all categories included in the Central Contract. Category A monthly income has been increased by 33%, B by 30% and C by 25%.
The PCB has created a new ‘Emerging’ category to appreciate the performance of young cricketers who have shown promise and to draw them more towards the game.
The list of emerging players includes 16-year-old Syeda Aroob Shah, 15-year-old Ayesha Naseem and 22-year-old Muneeba Ali, Fatima Sana, Kainat Hafeez, Najiha Alvi, Rameen Shamim, Saba Nazir and Sadia Iqbal.
The PCB has also increased the compensation for domestic events, match fees and prize money for these events have been increased by 100% while the domestic daily allowance has been increased by 50%.
The PCB has announced that Bismah Maroof will retain the captaincy for the 2020-21 season, but it the contract of head coach Iqbal Imam will not be extended.
Iqbal Imam’s services have been handed back to the High Performance Setup and an advertisement for the appointment of new Head Coach will be issued in time.
Twenty-two-year-old Muneeba Ali, who made an impact with 292 runs at a healthy average of 58.40 in the National T20 Championship with a century and three half-centuries in five matches, has been included in the nine-player emerging contract list.
The left-handed batter is joined by 16-year-old leg-spinner Syeda Aroob Shah, who bagged a player-of-the-match award on her ODI debut against Bangladesh Women in Lahore in November 2019 and was the highest wicket-taker in the national one-day championship.
The Pakistan national women’s team is scheduled to feature in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier and the ACC Women’s T20 Cup in the next 12 months, while an U19 team will feature in the inaugural ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup.
Chief selector National Women’s Cricket Urooj Mumtaz said that on behalf of the selection committee, she congratulates the players who got central contracts.
She said the selection committee had detailed deliberations prior to announcing the central contracts. International performances over the past 12 months, fitness standards and the players’ ability to contribute in both white ball formats were key measures that formed the criteria for the selection.
Urooj Mumtaz said that Bismah and Javeria have been promoted to Category A, following leading performances with the bat in the last year. Over the last one year, Bismah scored 213 runs at an average of 42.60 in five ODIs and 236 at 39.33 in T20Is, while Javeria was the highest run-getter for Pakistan in T20Is with 260 runs including three half-centuries.
