KARACHI: Despite being named in all of Pakistan’s three squads for the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka, Mohammad Sami failed to find a place among the 42 players handed out contracts by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Saturday.

The fast bowler, who was also not among the centrally-contracted players last year, was among the three players included in Pakistan’s current squads to have not received a contract. Uncapped fast bowler Rahat Ali and recalled all-rounder Yasir Arafat are the other two.

Eight players were named in the ‘A’ category of the contracts, with Umar Akmal being promoted from his previous ‘B’ category. Shahid Afridi also finds himself in the top category after moving on from his spat with the board management the previous year. Players in category ‘A’ will receive a retainer of 312,500 rupees per month – a 25 per cent increase from last year’s contract payments (Rs.250,000). In addition, they will receive a match fee of Rs.385,000 for Tests, Rs.320,000 for one-day internationals and Rs.275,000 for each Twenty20 match that they play in the year.

Former captain Shoaib Malik and young middle-order batters Asad Shafiq and Azhar Ali were among the six players given the ‘B’-category contracts. Others include fast bowlers Junaid Khan and Aizaz Cheema, and recalled Test opener Taufeeq Umar. The monthly retainer for category ‘B’ has been increased to Rs.218,750 from the previous Rs.175,000. Their match fees will be Rs.330,000, Rs.275,000 and Rs.220,000 for Test matches, ODIs and T20s respectively.

Wicket-keepers Adnan Akmal and Sarfraz Ahmed caught hold of Category ‘C’ contracts, along with batsmen Nasir Jamshed, Faisal Iqbal, Imran Farhat; all-rounder Hammad Azam and left-arm pacer Wahab Riaz. Players in this category will receive a monthly retainer of Rs.125,000, up from last year’s Rs.100,000. Category ‘C’ players will fetch Rs.275,000 for each Test match they play, Rs.220,000 for each ODI and Rs.165,000 for Twenty20 matches.

Out-of-favour Test players Kamran Akmal and Abdul Razzaq were among notable absentees, as well as Tanvir Ahmed, who has been named among the reserve players for the tour of Sri Lanka and was among the centrally-contracted players last year.

In the ‘stipend’ category, 21 players will receive a month retainer of Rs.62,500 and include some of the top performers of the last domestic season.

Category ‘A’ [Monthly: Rs.312,500, Tests: Rs.385,000, ODIs: Rs.325,000, T20s: Rs.275,000] Misbah-ul-Haq, Mohammad Hafeez, Younis Khan, Shahid Afridi, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Abdur Rehman and Umar Akmal

Category ‘B’ [Monthly: Rs.218,750, Tests: Rs.330,000 ODIs: Rs.275,000, T20s: Rs.220,000] Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Shoaib Malik, Taufeeq Umar, Junaid Khan and Aizaz Cheema

Category ‘C’ [Monthly: Rs. 125,000, Tests: Rs.275,000, ODIs: Rs.220,000, T20s: Rs.165,000] Adnan Akmal, Hammad Azam, Sarfraz Ahmed, Faisal Iqbal, Nasir Jamshed, Wahab Riaz and Imran Farhat

Stipend [Monthly: Rs.62,500] Shahzeb Hasan, Ahmed Shahzad, Awais Zia, Khalid Latif, Sohail Tanveer, Raza Hasan, Shakeel Ansar, Haris Sohail, Sharjeel Khan, Usman Salahuddin, Ayub Dogar, Mohammad Khalil, Afaq Rahim, Usman Qadir, Ziaul Haq, Anwar Ali, Babar Azam, Bismillah Khan, Bilawal Bhatti, Imran Khan and Sami Aslam