PCB increases domestic contracts to 157 players for 2025–26 season

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Thursday increased the number of domestic cricket contracts from 131 to 157 players for the 2025/26 season.

The PCB also added another category to the domestic contracts, with players now placed in four categories, an official said.

The PCB has awarded 30 players Category A contracts, 55 in Category B, 51 in Category C and 21 in Category D.

''These contracts been given keeping in mind performance of players in the previous season,'' the board official said.

Although the official did not disclose the exact fees for the new contracts, during the 2024–25 season the PCB had set a monthly retainer of PKR 550,000 rupees for Category A, PKR 400,000 for Category B and PKR 250,000 Category C.

Contracted players were also entitled to match fees ranging from PKR 200,000 for a four-day first-class match to PKR 125,000 and PKR 100,000 for List A and T20 matches.

The PCB subsidises most of the inter regional competitions but charges heavy participation fees from departmental teams for their tournaments which are part of the domestic calendar.