The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced significant changes to its players’ central contracts system and is introducing a new and unique structure.
With the continuous evolution of world cricket, it was felt that judging Test and T20 cricketers on the same scale was no longer in line with the realities.
The Pakistan Cricket Board has decided to play a leadership role in this changing situation and, abandoning the policy of ‘one system for all’, has created a structure that clearly recognizes the distinct identity, importance and needs of each format, prioritizes them and ensures their protection.
While most cricket boards in the world still keep all players in the same classification and pit a Test specialist against a T20 franchise player for the same grade, the Pakistan Cricket Board, under the supervision of Chairman Mohsin Naqvi, has decided to introduce a model that recognizes the distinct identity and priorities of each format.
The new system has not only changed the salary grades but also answered the most difficult question of modern cricket: how to keep Test cricket alive in the T20 era and how to do justice to cricketers of all formats?
Formal identification of cricket formats
The most striking feature of the new framework is that now the commitment to a specific cricket format has been given formal and structural status.
Every player with a central contract will be linked to a specific format pathway.
Some pathways will be based on red ball i.e. Test cricket while others will focus on white ball or T20 cricket.
The pathway chosen by the player will determine what the Pakistan Cricket Board expects from him and what facilities and opportunities will be provided to him in return. This choice will have clear documentation and practical implications.
Most importantly, the priority and non-priority of different formats has been defined in a transparent manner in this framework.
Test cricket has been given special protection in the new system. Since Test cricketers have limited income opportunities apart from national duty, the central contract system has been designed in such a way that players associated with Test cricket get additional protection and incentives.
White ball and T20
There will now be a clear and dignified path for specialist cricketers in the short format. No format will remain undefined. Each pathway will have its own requirements and its own opportunities.
All formats have been formally classified and the priority system makes this framework unique at the global level.
From four grades to five format tracks
In the old system, players were divided into A, B, C and D categories which only indicated the level of remuneration, but in the new system, five clear format tracks have been introduced in their place.
Track AB – Dual format (Test and ODI)
This format will feature prominent players from Pakistan who are the foundation of the Test and ODI teams. This will be the board’s prime category.
Track A – Red Ball Specialist (Test Cricket)
Players associated with this format will be dedicated solely to Test cricket. The aim of this track is to protect and promote Test specialists.
Track BC – White Ball (One Day International and T20 International)
Players associated with this format will be specialists in limited overs cricket.
Track D – T20 International and Franchise Specialist
This category will be for players who specialize in the shorter formats and will have more freedom to play franchise cricket alongside national responsibilities.
All tracks will be based on two basic principles. First, each player will be compared only with players from their own track and second, each track will have two internal tiers in which promotion or demotion is possible based on performance.
The Pakistan Cricket Board will not publicly disclose the number or distribution of contracts available in each track.
A historic decision for Test players
A feature of the new central contract system is that for the first time, Pakistan’s Test cricket specialists will be allowed to play in the world’s major first-class red-ball competitive leagues. This permission will not be for the short format but only for red-ball cricket.
The aim of this decision is to provide Test cricketers with experience in the world’s toughest first-class environment so that they can better represent Pakistan.
Franchise T20 leagues will continue to be closed to this group.
Why did the Pakistan Cricket Board introduce this system?
While answering this question, it is important to mention that Pakistan operates in one of the largest markets in world cricket.
Pakistani players are popular in franchise leagues around the world and the PCB has decided to create an effective system accordingly instead of fighting this fact.
In fact, the old system of central contracts created two problems for Pakistani cricketers.
Firstly, a player who performed well in the shorter format sometimes got more than a committed Test cricketer.
Secondly, there were limited opportunities for Test cricket specialists to progress without performing significantly in white-ball cricket.
The new system eliminates both of these problems as each cricketer will only be compared to cricketers in the format they are associated with.
The next question is how will cricketers qualify for central contracts? For this, they will have to go through a three-stage system.