Pakistan Cricket Board announces central contracts for 35 players, controversial Umar Akmal left out

New Delhi: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced central contracts for the new season (2017-18) involving 35 players divided into four categories, which didn't include the controversial Umar Akmal.

Courtesy a triumphant ICC Champions Trophy campaign in England, plenty of youngsters have been included in the list, but there have been quite a few promotions and demotions on the basis of the fitness levels of different players.

"The Central Contracts were awarded after keeping in mind the performances, fitness, and discipline of the players," said a statement from the PCB.

"A number of young players have been awarded Central Contracts this year keeping in mind that the teams in all formats will be going through a transitionary period after a number of retirements," the statement added.

As per the new list released by PCB, Mohammad Amir has been promoted from B category to A category while Wahab Riaz has been demoted from B to C category. Imad Wasim and Hasan Ali have also earned promotion from C to B category.

Umar Akmal has been excluded from central contract.

Players currently suspended due to the PSL spot-fixing scandal have also been omitted from the list of the contracted players.

Here's the full list:-

Category A: Sarfraz Ahmed, Azhar Ali, Shoaib Malik, Yasir Shah, Mohammad Hafeez and Mohammad Amir.

Category B: Babar Azam, Imad Wasim, Asad Shafiq and Hasan Ali.

Category C: Wahab Riaz, Rahat Ali, Haris Sohail, Sami Aslam, Shan Masood, Sohail Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Junaid Khan, Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Abbas and Shadab Khan.

Category D: Mohammad Nawaz, Asif Zakir, Usman Salahuddin, Aamer Yamin, Usman Shinwari, Fahim Ashraf, Rumman Raees, Imam-ul-Haq, Bilal Asif, Mir Hamza, Umar Amin, Mohammad Hassan, Mohammad Asghar and Mohammad Irfan.

Wages (per month):

Category A: PKR 650,000 = INR 4,00,000 (Approx per month)

Category B: PKR 450,000 = INR 2,76,000 (Approx per month)

Category C: PKR 260,000 = INR 1,60,000 (Approx per month)

Category D: PKR 179,000 = INR 1,10,000 (Approx per month)

In March 2017, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) also announced central contracts for Indian players, dividing into three categories, A, B and C.

The Annual Retainer amounts were enhanced for all the categories.

Grade A: Rs 2 crores per annum = INR 16,66,666 (Approx per month)

Grade B: Rs 1 Crore per annum = INR 08,33,333 (Approx per month)

Grade C Rs 50 lakhs per annum = INR 04,16,666 (Approx per month)

If only the wages of the captains of the two teams – Virat Kohli and Sarfraz Ahmed – are compared, a massive difference can be noticed.

While Kohli earns Rs 2 crore per year, Sarfraz earns 48,00,000 annually, which comes down to about 1/4th of his Indian counterpart's earnings.