On June 28, the Pakistan Cricket Board released the central contract list for women cricketers for the 2021-22 season and surprised everyone by increasing the spots from nine to twelve. These contracts will come into effect from July 1.
The players have been divided into 3 categories, i.e., categories A, B, and C. Eight players have been retained from the emerging contract list. So, in all PCB has awarded 20 central contracts this year which is two more than last year.
Positive move from Pakistan Cricket Board🙌🇵🇰
They have added three more spots in the central contracts for women cricketers for the 2021-22 season, which makes it a total of 12 contracted players.#PakistanCricket
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) June 28, 2021
This contract will see the increase of monthly retainers by a whole of 10 percent and a spot has been reserved in the contract list for the player who will get a contract based on her performance on-field this year.
Now talking about the women who booked their spot, all-rounder Nida Dar has been promoted to the C category to B. She is also the only batter to hit two half-centuries and is the second-highest run-getter in the three ODIs Pakistan played against South Africa.
Next is the PCB Women’s Emerging Cricketer of the Year Award recipient, Fatima Sana, who has been promoted from the emerging list to category C. the 19-year-old has been impressing the Pakistani Board ever since her debut against South Africa in Dubai.
We can certainly say that Pakistan’s domestic T20 league played a major role in the decision of the contract list recipients. It was the domestic performances of Fatima Sana and Kainat Imtiaz that got them these central contracts.
The Pakistan skipper Javeria Khan retained her spot in the Category A list alongside Bismah Maroof, who is on maternity leave.
Urooj Mumtaz, the chair of the national women’s selection committee, said: “I want to take this opportunity to congratulate all the players who have received central contracts for the 2021-22 season. The Pakistan Cricket Board has increased the list of central contracts from nine to 12 as it continues to value and reward the best performers on the circuit.
“The emerging category retains eight players after Fatima Sana, who has shown some outstanding on-field performances and promise, has been awarded category C contract. Over the next year, the PCB, in total, will contract 20 women cricketers, which is an increase of two from the 2020-21 season.”
“To ensure that the players who have not earned central contracts stay motivated, we have announced an open spot in the central contracts to be awarded to one player for outstanding performances during the year. I am sure this will act as an incentive for the players, who are gearing up for what promises to be an exciting series against West Indies in Antigua.”
“The last year has been an extremely challenging one owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, despite that, the PCB continued to significantly invest in the women’s game and organized international and domestic cricket for the women cricketers, with the tours of South Africa and Zimbabwe and domestic T20 competition. The board also invested in three high-performance camps over the 2020-21 season, which also included one camp for 27 emerging players.”
Central contracts for women’s cricketers for 2021-22 season:
Category A – Bismah Maroof and Javeria Khan
Category B – Aliya Riaz, Diana Baig, and Nida Dar
Category C – Anam Amin, Fatima Sana, Kainat Imtiaz, Nahida Khan, Nashra Sandhu, Omaima Sohail, and Sidra Nawaz
Emerging contracts for women’s cricketers for the 2021-22 season: Ayesha Naseem, Kaynat Hafeez, Muneeba Ali Siddiqui, Najiha Alvi, Rameen Shamim, Saba Nazir, Sadia Iqbal, and Syeda Aroob Shah
Source: PCB