Hassan Ali and Mohammad Rizwan have been offered Category A contracts, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said on Friday while announcing the central contracts for 20 cricketers for the year 2021-2022.

In a statement, the PCB also announced that match fees across all formats has been equalised, meaning that all players will receive the same amount for any match they play in – irrespective of which category they are in and whether they have a central contract or not.

The 12-month contracts will run from 1 July to 30 June, 2022.

Category A: Babar Azam, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Shah Afridi

Category B: Azhar Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Fawad Alam, Shadab Khan and Yasir Shah

Category C: Abid Ali, Imamul Haq, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Nauman Ali and Sarfaraz Ahmed

Emerging Category: Imran Butt, Shahnawaz Dahani and Usman Qadir

"Ali had missed out on the contract last year due to an injury, but following his stellar performance in 2020-2021 as well as looking ahead to the 2021-22 season, he has been placed in Category A.

"Rizwan has been rewarded for his consistent performance across all formats by moving him from Category B to Category A," the PCB said.

Meanwhile, central contracts have also been offered to Faheem Ashraf (Category B), Fawad Alam (Category B), Mohammad Nawaz (Category C) and Nauman Ali (Category C) in recognition of their contributions and performances, the statement said.

Haris Rauf and Mohammad Hasnain, who were in the Emerging Category last year, have been promoted to Category C. Youngsters Imran Butt, Shahnawaz Dahani and Usman Qadir have been placed in the Emerging Category, the PCB said.

However, Asad Shafiq, Haider Ali, Haris Sohail, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Abbas, Naseem Shah, Shan Masood and Usman Shinwari were missing from the list of 20 players.

"They remain firmly in the selectors’ plan for the season ahead and have the opportunity to earn contracts for the 2022-2023 season, subject to performances during the 2021-2022 season," the statement said.

Commenting on decision, PCB Chief Executive Wasim Khan said selecting 20 players from a pool of quality cricketers is always a challenging task.

“In the new list, we have seen eight new players emerge who have now gained central contracts. Due to the competitive nature of the central contract system, nine players who had contracts in 2020-2021 have sadly missed out on this occasion. The door remains firmly open for these players and they will continue to remain in the plans of the selectors," he said.

He added that the Emerging Category recognised and rewarded up and coming talent.

"We have seen the emergence of Haris Rauf and Mohammad Hasnain, who moved from the Emerging Category to Category C, and the likes of Imran Butt, Shahnawaz Dahani and Usman Qadir breaking into the Emerging Category. It remains a platform for young players to break into the central contract system."

Upward revisions to central contract payments

• 25pc increase in Category A retainer; no increase in Test, ODI and T20I match fee
• 25pc increase in Category B retainer; Test match fee increased by 15pc, ODI match fee increased by 20pc and T20I match fee increased by 25pc
• 25pc increase in Category C retainer; 34pc increase in Test match fee, 50pc increase in ODI match fee, 67pc increase in T20I match fee
• 15pc increase in Emerging Category retainer; 34pc increase in Test match fee, 50pc increase in ODI match fee, 67pc increase in T20I match fee