Placed in category B, Muhammad Rizwan refuses to sign PCB central contract

Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Muhammad Rizwan has refused to sign the new central contracts offered to the national players after being placed in category B.

According to a reliable source, Rizwan is the only one of the 30 players given the new contracts to have not signed the document.

The Pakistan Cricket Board, while offering the new contracts, has removed the prestigious category A, which previously was only given to Babar Azam, Rizwan and Shaheen Shah Afridi. The category was removed in a clear message to the players that the board was not satisfied with their performances in the last one year.

This time, the board has clubbed together 10 players in Category B, including the three seniors but Rizwan recently made it clear to the board that he would only sign the document if some of his grievances were addressed by the board.

Rizwan’s demands, the source said, had been made after he was removed as the ODI captain.

He has apparently asked the board to give him and other seniors category A as they did previously. He has also made it clear that while appointing anyone as captain, the board must give him a clear term and time to fulfil his plans.

He has not been picked in the T20 format since December 2024 while his recent sacking as ODI captain surprised many with Shaheen named his successor.