Daily Times

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Friday included two new entrants ––– left-arm spinner Anam Amin and middle-order batter Omaima Sohail ––– in the significantly improved, enhanced and performance-based PCB women’s central contract list for 2020-21, which will come into effect from July 1. Bismah Maroof, Javeria Khan and Diana Baig are the three players to get promotions at the back of their international performances in the just-concluded 2019-20 season. The nine central contracts see an increase of 33 percent in the monthly retainers of the Category A players, while players in Category B and C will receive 30 and 25 percent rise, respectively. In a continuation to last year, the Pakistan national women’s team will travel business class on all flights longer than five hours.

“Separately, and as part of the PCB’s strategy to enhance the profile of women’s cricket, inspire and incentivise aspiring cricketers and bring it at par with men’s cricket, the PCB has introduced emerging contract list,” said a spokesman for the PCB yesterday. The nine-player list includes 16-year-old Syeda Aroob Shah, 15-year-old Ayesha Naseem (who made her Pakistan debut in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup this year), 22-year-old Muneeba Ali Siddiqui, Fatima Sana, Kainat Hafeez, Najiha Alvi, Rameen Shamim, Saba Nazir and Sadia Iqbal (who won player-of-the-match award on her T20I debut against Bangladesh in October). In a significant boost for the domestic cricketers, the match fee and event prize money have been increased by 100 percent, while daily allowances have been increased by 50 percent.

In addition and following a review of the 2019-20 season, the PCB has decided to retain Bismah Maroof as captain till the end of the 2020-21 season. However, it has also been decided not to renew the contract of head coach Iqbal Imam who will now resume his duties in the high performance set-up. Iqbal’s replacement will be made through an advertisement process.

Twenty-two-year-old Muneeba Ali, who made an impact with 292 runs at a healthy average of 58.40 in the National T20 Championship with a century and three half-centuries in five matches, has been included in the nine-player emerging contract list. The left-handed batter is joined by 16-year-old leg-spinner Syeda Aroob Shah, who bagged a player-of-the-match award on her ODI debut against Bangladesh Women in Lahore in November 2019 and was the highest wicket-taker in the national one-day championship. The Pakistan national women’s team are scheduled to feature in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier and the ACC Women’s T20 Cup in the next 12 months, while an Under-19 team will feature in the inaugural ICC Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup.

Urooj Mumtaz, the chair of the national women’s selection committee, while announcing the central contracts said: “On behalf of the selection committee, I would like to congratulate all the players who have received the central contracts. The selection committee had detailed deliberations prior to announcing the central contracts. International performances over the past 12 months, fitness standards and the players’ ability to contribute in both white ball formats were key measures that formed the criteria for the selection. An overall performance-based review will take place six months into the contracts, primarily to motivate the players to continue to excel, eliminating the element of complacency.”

She said she was extremely delighted to announce the emerging contract category. “Nine players have been included, comprising of talented individuals who have showcased their skill on the international and domestic stage, along with those future prospects who are on the fringes of the national circuit. The addition of this category will incentivise players to remain dedicated to the game, importantly increasing the pool of players and creating a competitive environment at the junior level.”

Women’s central contract list
2020-21:

Category A – Bismah Maroof and Javeria Khan

Category B: Aliya Riaz, Diana Baig and Sidra Nawaz

Category C: Anam Amin, Nahida Khan, Nida Dar and Omaima Sohail.

Women’s emerging contract list 2020-21: Ayesha Naseem, Fatima Sana, Kainat Hafeez, Muneeba Ali Siddiqui, Najiha Alvi, Rameen Shamim, Saba Nazir, Sadia Iqbal and Syeda Aroob Shah.