The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has not yet disclosed the updated list of contracted cricketers or has clarified whether it will be made public, more than two months after player central contracts ended on July 31, earlier this year.
Although a senior PCB official had earlier said that the board was not required to make the names public, another official later clarified that the list will eventually be made public.
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The continued silence has also sparked speculation over the central contracts, with sources suggesting it remains unclear whether the new list has been finalised or distributed to the players.
The delay has also drawn attention to a change in the PCB's contract policy. Players are reportedly being offered format-specific deals, such as Test-only or T20-only contracts, instead of the broader multi-format retainers used previously.
The PCB has traditionally released the full list of contracted players along with their respective categories soon after the contracts are finalised. The latest delay has raised questions about whether disagreements over the new format-based structure are holding up the process.
A source familiar with the matter said some players have pushed back against the format-specific contracts, with concerns that being tied to one format could limit their options. “No player wants to be restricted to one format,” the source said.
This is not the first time the PCB has taken longer than expected to finalise its central contracts. In 2023, the announcement was delayed following lengthy discussions between senior players and then PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf over financial packages and other contract terms ahead of the ODI World Cup in India.
The list was eventually finalised and the names of the contracted players were made public.
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(With PTI Inputs)
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