Mohammad Rizwan refuses to sign central contract with PCB:Former Pakistan skipper takes bold call after being stripped of ODI captaincy

Pakistan cricket team’s wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan has refused to sign the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)’s central contract for the 2025-26 season. According to Pakistani media reports, Rizwan has put forward some conditions to the board, which the PCB has not yet agreed upon. The PCB released the central contract two months ago, in which both Rizwan and Babar Azam were moved from Category A to Category B. Until last season, both players were Pakistan’s top-contracted (Category A) cricketers. This time, the PCB had not included any player in Category A, which is considered a major change in the board’s new policy. In the contract released for the 2025-26 season, the number of players was increased from 27 to 30. Young players Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Haris, and Sufiyan Muqeem were included in the central contract for the 2025-26 season. 10 players each were given a place in all three categories, B, C, and D. This contract will be valid from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026. Rizwan was removed from ODI captaincy PCB recently removed Rizwan from ODI captaincy and appointed Shaheen Shah Afridi as the new captain. Pakistan’s team will play the ODI series against South Africa from 3rd November under the captaincy of new captain Shaheen Shah Afridi. Notably, Rizwan has been included in Pakistan’s 16-member squad. Rizwan also removed from the PAK T20I squad Rizwan has not been part of Pakistan’s T20I team since the home T20 series against South Africa last December. Rizwan was made ODI captain last year Rizwan was made the captain of the ODI team last November. He led Pakistan to series victories in Australia and South Africa in 2024. At that time, he himself scored runs at an average of 42. However, the team’s performance was poor this year, and Pakistan was eliminated in the first round of the Champions Trophy 2025.