The Pakistan Cricket Board will no longer list its centrally contracted players in the familiar A-to-D hierarchy. Chairman Mohsin Naqvi confirmed on Monday that a “formats-based” model, already trialled at domestic level, will take its place from the next contract cycle.
Presenting the change beside head coaches Aaqib Javed and Mike Hesson, Naqvi said that objective measurements, not personal preference, would drive selections. “Eighty-five per cent of the contract decision has been taken away from humans and towards data,” he explained. “The contracts players used to get always resulted in debates about why players were placed in a particular category. Even players were uncomfortable when they got a category they were not happy with.”
Four new “format tracks” replace the outgoing categories:
• Track A – Test specialists
• Track AB – those expected to play Tests and ODIs
• Track BC – white-ball players covering both limited-overs formats
• Track D – T20-only cricketers
Track D players will enjoy the broadest window for franchise work abroad, while Track A names face tighter release rules but higher retainers. The board hopes that weighting will make a red-ball career financially worthwhile. Hesson, in charge of white-ball cricket, backed the idea. “Every single Test nation is struggling to come up with a method or document for Test cricket and the challenges around that,” he said. “How do you value it from a financial point of view where you allow players to focus on Test cricket?”
At first glance the scheme sounds transparent. Yet the PCB does not intend to publish which player falls into which track, nor reveal the numbers in each group. That silence could blur future debates over, for instance, a batter’s request for an overseas T20 stint or a specialist seamer’s omission from a one-day squad.
Aaqib underlined how heavily the board now leans on analytics. “If you go to Cricinfo, they’ve started using this metric called Impact Player, which you might have heard of. That means you evaluate not whether a player has scored a 50 or 100, but also whether scoring 20 at number 7 might have proved a more useful contribution to a win.” He added that similar measures influenced domestic selections last season, feeding directly into the new contracts blueprint.
Naqvi argued the numbers-first method will stand up to scrutiny. “The criteria has been set to place players in any category,” he said. “I’m confident that the process will be transparent and not in the hands of individuals. No one will be able to object to what category they have been placed in.” Whether that confidence survives the first call-up a sidelined senior misses remains to be seen, but the board is clearly banking on spreadsheets over reputation.
Players on Track A retainers are understood to receive the largest base salary, plus match fees scaled to reflect the longer format. The PCB’s draft also promises medical coverage and a clearer off-season window, a nod to concerns about workload and injuries. For Track D, the contract wording includes more flexible no-objection certificates, recognising that a T20 specialist’s market value often peaks during global leagues.
Industry reaction has been muted so far; agents and senior players are studying the small print before commenting publicly. Behind closed doors, several are said to welcome the idea of red-ball premiums but remain uneasy about the secrecy over track allocations. One domestic coach, speaking on background, called the policy “a step in the right direction, provided the algorithm stays honest”.
The broader question is cultural. Pakistan’s elite players have long crossed formats with pride; pigeon-holing may feel counter-intuitive in a dressing-room that still values the all-rounder mystique. Yet schedules are ever more congested. By dividing labour, the PCB hopes to stretch careers – and, just as crucially, keep its best exponents of Test cricket from drifting towards the fully franchised life.
The first list of format-track contracts is expected in late July, after the Test squad returns from Bangladesh. Negotiations with the players’ association are ongoing, though insiders suggest the money side is largely agreed. As one senior official put it privately, “The real challenge isn’t the cheques. It’s convincing a top-order star he’s better off in Dhaka on a Thursday than in Dallas on a Friday night.”
For now, at least, Pakistan’s administrators appear committed to letting algorithms talk louder than reputations. If the data delivers both clarity and better results on the field, few will argue. But clarity, in cricket as in life, likes sunlight – and the new tracks will only stay convincing if stakeholders can see where the rails are laid.
