Pakistan cricket team players received their central contracts in Kolkata on Sunday as the Green Shirts prepare to take on Bangladesh on October 31 in a crucial ICC World Cup 2023 match.
The players have signed on the contracts and they are now set to receive their salary in the next few days.
After Pakistan's poor performance in the ongoing mega event, news emerged on social media that said that the Pakistani players had not been paid their salaries for the last five months.
However, an official from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) confirmed that the players and the board agreed on central contract terms the day the team had to fly to India for the World Cup which is why they couldn't sign the contracts.
The hard copy of the contract was sent to each player which they signed and are now set to receive their salaries after the PCB completes some other formalities.
The central contracts were delayed because of differences on some issues between the players and the board.
It must be noted that the players were offered a momentous deal, with a historic rise in pay, that includes a portion of ICC revenue. Red-ball and white-ball contracts have also been merged.
The list of players is divided into four categories with significant increases in monthly retainers. Revenue from ICC will be incorporated in overall monthly remuneration.
Category A (3 players): 202 %
Category B (6): 144 %
Category C (2): 135 %
Category D (14): 127 %
Category A: Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Shah Afridi
Category B: Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Shadab Khan
Category C: Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Imad Wasim and Noman Ali
Category D: Aamir Jamal, Arshad Iqbal, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Ihsanullah, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel, Shahnawaz Dahani, Shan Masood, Tayyab Tahir, Usama Mir and Zaman Khan
Atique ur Rehman Atique ur Rehman is a senior reporter for Geo News.