Pakistan stars Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha and Shadab Khan have been rewarded for their performances across the last 12 months by earning an upgrade on the side's central contract list for 2025/26.
The quintet all performed admirably over the past year and earn a promotion to Category B on the latest contract list that was unveiled by Pakistan on Tuesday. Only Babar and Mohammad Rizwan were in Category A for 2024/25, with the pair dropping back to Category B for the new period. Both players were also recently left out of Pakistan's squad for next month's Asia Cup.
In total there are 30 players that win central contracts for the year that commenced on July 1 2025, with a total of 10 players listed in Category B.
That list is headed by former skipper Babar Azam, star opener Fakhar Zaman and pace spearhead Shaheen Afridi, with Abrar, Rauf, Ayub, Ali Agha and Shadab joining the group until at least June 30 2026.
A further 10 players are listed in both Category C and Category D, with Pakistan choosing against having any of their stars in Category A for the next period.
There is a total of 12 new additions to the contract list, highlighting the emergence of promising new talent and the board's strategic focus on squad depth and future development.
