LAHORE: Pakistan Cricket Board, in its bid to continue to reward and incentivise top-performing women cricketers, has added three more spots in the central contracts for women cricketers for the 2021-22 season.
Cricketer Bismah Maroof, who is on maternity leave, has retained her Category A contract, while All-rounder Nida Dar has been promoted to category B from C.
Javeria Khan, who captained Pakistan in Africa and will continue leading the national side in the three T20Is and five ODIs against West Indies in Antigua, is retained in the top category.
These contracts, which come into effect from 1 July, include 12 spots, divided between A, B and C categories, while eight cricketers have been retained in the emerging contracts list.
In total, the PCB has awarded 20 contracts for the 2021-22 cricket season, which is two more than the previous season. Monthly remuneration across all categories including the emerging category have been increased by 10 percent. The national women’s selection committee has kept one spot open in the central contracts that will be awarded in the year based on on-field performance.
The central contracts have been awarded after factoring in the on-field performances in the past one year at both international and domestic level, and with an eye on future engagements.
Central contracts for Pakistan women’s cricketers for 2021-22
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Fatima Sana, the recipient of PCB Women’s Emerging Cricketer of the Year Award last year, has been bumped up from the emerging list to category C of the central contracts. The 19-year-old emerged into a regular feature in Pakistan’s ODI line-up and played all three matches against South Africa in Durban earlier in the year.
Kainat Imtiaz, who was the player of the tournament for scoring 111 runs at the average of 111 in four innings and taking three wickets, has also been given a category C contract. She remained the top run-getter in T20Is for Pakistan as she scored 79 runs at 26.33 and a strike rate of over run-a-ball (101.28).
Left-arm orthodox Nashra Sandhu has also been handed a category C contract after she finished the season as second best ODI bowler with six scalps behind Diana Baig’s nine wickets in three innings.
All eight cricketers who received emerging contracts last year have been retained in the category. Meanwhile, wicketkeeper Sidra Nawaz has been demoted to category C from B.
