The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is yet to take a final decision on whether it will publicly announce the list of players who will receive central contracts under its new payment and categorisation system.The PCB usually announces its list of centrally contracted players by the first week of August. The contracts normally run from June to July every fiscal year.“The thinking is that it is not necessary to announce the players who are to be given these new contracts, as it is an internal matter of the board,” a source was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.Pakistan ODI captain Shaheen Shah Afridi was asked about the issue during a media interaction in Multan on Monday but said he was not aware of the development.The PCB had earlier confirmed that it would introduce format-based central contracts for the 2026-27 period. Under the new system, male players will be eligible for contracts if they have played at least four Tests, six ODIs or as many T20Is in the previous 12 months.The new format-based system has also made it difficult for the board to decide which categories individual players should be placed in, PTI reported, quoting source.The uncertainty over the contracts comes at a time when the PCB is also facing questions over its financial disclosures.Last week, the PCB secured a stay order from the Islamabad High Court until September 22 after a government agency asked the board to provide financial and other details of its accounts.The current PCB administration, headed by Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, has not regularly made its financial information public. Since 2023, the board has not published audited statements on its website, although doing so had previously been a regular practice.The PCB has shared financial details with the media only when it has considered the information useful to its interests.
