Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan has reportedly declined to sign the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) new central contract for the 2025–26 season. The move comes amid tensions between senior players and the PCB following major changes in the central contract structure and recent captaincy reshuffles.
The PCB recently abolished the elite Category A tier, previously reserved for top players like Rizwan, Babar Azam, and Shaheen Afridi. In the revamped system, all three stars were placed in Category B alongside other senior players. In contrast, the total number of contracted players increased from 27 to 30, with an equal division among Categories B, C, and D. No player was retained in the former top tier.
“𝑹𝒊𝒛𝒘𝒂𝒏 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒂𝒔 𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒔𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒎. 𝑯𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝑪𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒈𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝑨 𝒓𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒐𝒓 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒌𝒔 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒎𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒚 𝒓𝒐𝒍𝒆𝒔,” 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒅.
Rizwan’s Frustration Over Leadership Changes
Rizwan’s decision comes after a series of captaincy changes that left him sidelined. After Babar Azam stepped down following the 2023 ODI World Cup, Shaheen Shah Afridi briefly took over as captain. Babar was reinstated ahead of the 2024 T20 World Cup but stepped down again months later. Rizwan briefly led the ODI side but was also removed by mid-2025.
“Frequent leadership changes have been a source of frustration for Rizwan. He has been vocal about wanting stability and respect for senior players in decision-making,” said a source close to the batter.
Despite the disagreement, Rizwan has been included in Pakistan’s 16-member squad for the upcoming ODI series against South Africa starting November 3, under Shaheen Afridi’s leadership. PCB officials maintain that the restructuring aims to reward consistent performance while promoting young talent.
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