Pakistan's pace-bowling trio of Hasan Ali, Wahab Riaz and Mohammad Amir have lost their central contracts while former captain Sarfaraz Ahmed has been demoted from category A to B by the PCB. Shaheen Afridi and Azhar Ali were promoted from category B to A, joining Babar Azam in the top category for PKR 1.1 million (USD 6200 approx.). The PCB also introduced a new 'Emerging' category for three upcoming players Haider Ali, Mohammad Hasnain and Haris Rauf, while Naseem Shah earned a maiden category C contract. PCB has also named Babar Azam the new ODI captain, making him the country's white-ball leader

Yasir Shah, one of the central figures in the Pakistan Test side, was the other player to be demoted from A to B and Imam-ul-Haq was demoted from B to C. Yasir has had a poor run of late in Tests, averaging 75 with 10 wickets from five games since the beginning of 2019. He and Sarfaraz joined Asad Shafiq, Haris Sohail, Mohammad Abbas and Shadab Khan in the B category along with the trio of Abid Ali, Mohammad Rizwan and Shan Masood who were promoted from C to B, which will fetch the players PKR 750,000 (USD 4700 approx.). Ahmed was the captain in all three formats at the time of the previous contracts but since October 2019 he not only lost his captaincy but was also dropped from the Test side to be replaced by Mohammad Rizwan.

Category C saw two new entrants in Naseem and Iftikhar Ahmed who joined Fakhar Zaman, Imad Wasim, Imam, and Usman Shinwari; this category will help the players earn PKR 550,000 (USD 3400 approx.).

Amir and Riaz had both retired from Tests last year citing workload management to extend their white-ball careers with Pakistan, and their T20 longevity in leagues around the world. Both were demoted to category C last year only to be left out from the new list this time, which is valid from July 1, 2020 to June 31, 2021.

Over the years, Pakistan have invested significantly in Hasan as he became an automatic pick across formats under previous head coach Mickey Arthur. He made a flying start to his international career after making his Test debut in 2017 until last year when he suffered a slump in form and broke down with injuries. He last played for Pakistan in June 2019 and then missed nearly the entire first-class season at home (played one first-class game only) due a to rib injury. He made a comeback in the PSL in February for Peshawar Zalmi to revive his form but didn't look as convincing with eight wickets in nine games with an economy rate of 8.59 and best figures of 2 for 36.

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