Pakistan will assess the players in the ODI tri-series before awarding central contracts

Pakistan’s cricketers will have to wait until the end of the ODI tri-series later this month to receive their major contracts as the head coach and selectors want to assess the players before making a final decision.

Pakistan will compete in a tri-series involving Sri Lanka and England from October 18 to 31 in Rawalpindi and Lahore.

“The reason is that head coach Mike Hesson, who coaches the national team in all formats, and the national selectors want to look at the players’ performances in the ongoing international matches at home as well as the ongoing first-class domestic season before making a decision,” the source said.

The source added that Hesson and the selectors believe they can form a strong picture of which player(s) to place in which category in the new central contracts after watching their performances in those matches.

The PCB said it will award new central contracts in specialized categories of the format and not on seniority. Players will now be categorized in Test cricket format, T20 format and white ball format (ODIs+T20) etc.

The source said the announcement of the new contracts may be delayed until the completion of the two-Test series against Sri Lanka in November.

“Whenever the central contracts are given out, they will be given retroactively as the last central contracts expired on July 31,” the source added. The board typically announces new contracts in August.

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