The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced the men’s domestic cricket contracts for the 2025–26 season, awarding retainers to 157 players across four categories. The new contracts, which will run from August 2025 to July 2026, mark a significant expansion in Pakistan’s domestic structure — both in scale and inclusivity.
In a bid to strengthen the domestic framework and reward consistent performers, the PCB has increased the number of categories from three to four, and the total contracted players from 131 last season to 157 this year. The four categories — DC1, DC2, DC3, and DC4 — include 30, 55, 51, and 21 players respectively, selected after a detailed evaluation of performances across all tournaments held during the 2024–25 domestic season.
The monthly retainers have been designed to acknowledge and support players who have demonstrated excellence and consistency across formats, with selectors and regional coaches jointly overseeing the performance review process.
The ongoing 2025–26 domestic season began with the 12-team Hanif Mohammad Trophy on 29 August, and will feature an expanded calendar including two first-class tournaments, three non-first-class red-ball events, one List A competition, and the two-phase National T20 Cup, culminating with the 11th edition of the HBL Pakistan Super League.
Among the top-tier Domestic Category 1 players are national stars and high-performing regional cricketers such as Abid Ali, Aamir Jamal, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Huraira, Omair Bin Yousuf, Tayyab Tahir, and Zahid Mehmood.
Category 2 comprises 55 players, including Haider Ali, Rohail Nazir, Usama Mir, Shahnawaz Dahani, Musa Khan, Qasim Akram, and Yasir Khan, reflecting a strong mix of emerging and experienced talent.
In Category 3, the PCB has rewarded performers with substantial domestic pedigree such as Aamer Yamin, Asif Ali, Fawad Alam, Amad Butt, Salman Irshad, and Mohammad Umar, alongside a new group of promising names.
Category 4 includes 21 players, representing the next generation of domestic prospects like Abu Huraira, Bismillah Khan, Mohammad Faizan Jnr, and Shoaib Akhtar Jnr, who have shown potential in the second-tier red-ball and white-ball competitions.
The PCB emphasized that the expansion of categories and contracts aims to ensure that players across all tiers of Pakistan’s cricket ecosystem are provided financial stability and recognition for their contributions.
“This structure ensures that consistent performers at every level of our domestic system are identified, rewarded, and retained,” a PCB official stated. “It reflects our long-term commitment to creating a competitive, sustainable, and performance-driven domestic environment.”
With a broader base of contracted cricketers, the 2025–26 domestic season is set to be one of the most competitive in recent years, offering a pathway for performers from the regional circuit to break into national contention.
Domestic Category 1 (30)
Abid Ali (Lahore), Aamir Jamal (Islamabad), Akif Javed (FATA), Azan Awais (Sialkot), Faisal Akram (Multan), Haseebullah (Quetta), Iftikhar Ahmed (Peshawar), Imam-ul-Haq (Lahore), Jahandad Khan (Rawalpindi), Kamran Ghulam (Abbottabad), Kashif Bhatti (Hyderabad), Khalid Usman (Abbottabad), Mir Hamza (Karachi), Mohammad Ali (Sialkot), Mohammad Hasnain (Hyderabad), Mohammad Huraira (Sialkot), Mohammad Ismail (Multan), Muhammad Irfan Khan (Faisalabad), Muhammad Shahzad (Multan), Mushtaq Ahmed (Larkana), Niaz Khan (Peshawar), Nisar Ahmed (Lahore), Omair Bin Yousuf (Karachi), Tayyab Tahir (Lahore), Umar Amin (Islamabad), Umar Siddiq (Lahore), Usman Khan (Karachi), Usman Tariq (Peshawar), Waqar Hussain (Multan) and Zahid Mehmood (Larkana)
Domestic Category 2 (55)
Abdul Faseeh (Rawalpindi), Abdul Samad (Faisalabad), Ahmed Bashir (Lahore), Ahmed Safi Abdullah (Faisalabad), Ali Raza (Sialkot), Ali Zaryab (Lahore), Arafat Minhas (Multan), Arif Yaqoob (Karachi), Arshadullah (FATA), Asif Afridi (FATA), Ayaz Tasawwar (Sialkot), Danish Aziz (Karachi), Haider Ali (Rawalpindi), Hassan Raza (Azad Jammu and Kashmir), Imran Butt (Lahore), Jalat Khan (Quetta), Kashif Ali (Rawalpindi), Khawaja Mohammad Nafay (Karachi), Maaz Sadaqat (Peshawar), Mehran Mumtaz (Rawalpindi), Mehran Sanwal (Bahawalpur), Mirza Tahir Baig (Sialkot), Mohsin Riaz (Sialkot), Mohammad Amir Khan (Peshawar), Mohammad Arif (Abbottabad), Mohammad Faizan (Faisalabad), Mohammad Imran Jnr (Peshawar), Mohammad Naeem (FATA), Mohammad Rameez Jnr (Lahore), Mohammad Salman (Lahore), Mohammad Suleman (Hyderabad), Mubasir Khan (Rawalpindi), Muhammad Awais Zafar (Faisalabad), Muhammad Ghazi Ghori (Karachi), Muhammad Imran (Faisalabad), Musa Khan (Islamabad), Qasim Akram (Lahore), Rameez Aziz (Karachi), Rohail Nazir (Islamabad), Saad Baig (Karachi), Saad Khan (Hyderabad), Saad Masood (Rawalpindi), Saifullah Bangash (Karachi), Sameen Gul (FATA), Shahid Aziz (FATA), Shahnawaz Dahani (Larkana), Shamyl Hussain (Islamabad), Sharoon Siraj (Multan), Sirajuddin (FATA), Ubaid Shah (Lahore), Usama Mir (Sialkot), Waqar Ahmed (Peshawar), Waseem Akram Jnr (Multan), Yasir Khan (Rawalpindi) and Zaman Khan (Azad Jammu & Kashmir)
Domestic Category 3 (51)
Aamer Yamin (Multan), Abbas Ali (Peshawar), Abdullah Fazal (Karachi), Abdur Rehman (Sialkot), Abdul Rehman Muzammil (Multan), Abdul Wahid Bangalzai (Quetta), Afaq Afridi (FATA), Afaq Ahmed (Abbottabad), Adil Amin (Peshawar), Aftab Khan (Karachi), Ali Hamza Wasim (Bahawalpur), Ali Husnain (Rawalpindi), Ali Usman (Multan), Amad Butt (Sialkot), Arsal Sheikh (Islamabad), Asad Raza (Faisalabad), Asif Ali (Faisalabad), Bilawal Bhatti (Sialkot), Fawad Alam (Karachi), Hasnain Nadeem (Azad Jammu & Kashmir), Imran Dogar (Lahore), Israr Hussain (Abbottabad), Jahanzaib Sultan (Karachi), Jawad Ali (Hyderabad), Kamran Afzal (Lahore), Mohsin Khan (Peshawar), Mohammad Adil (Abbottabad), Mohammad Amir Barki (Peshawar), Mohammad Asghar (Karachi), Mohammad Azab (Bahawalpur), Mohammad Hamza (Karachi), Mohammad Huzaifa (Bahawalpur), Mohammad Sarwar Afridi (FATA), Mohammad Taha (Karachi), Mohammad Umar (Karachi), Mohammad Zeeshan (Faisalabad), Muhammad Akhlaq (Lahore), Naqeebullah (Quetta), Nabi Gul (Peshawar), Naseerullah Khan (Islamabad), Obaid Shahid (Lahore), Raja Hamza Waheed (Islamabad), Rizwan Mehmood (Hyderabad), Saad Nasim (Lahore), Salman Irshad (Azad Jammu & Kashmir), Saqib Khan (Karachi), Shahab Khan (Abbottabad), Shahzaib Khan (Abbottabad), Shehzad Gul (Faisalabad), Taimur Khan (Rawalpindi) and Tahir Hussain (Multan)
Domestic Category 4 (21)
Aashar Mehmood (Sialkot), Abu Huraira (Dera Murad Jamali), Aqib Khan (Abbottabad), Aqib Liaqat (Azad Jammu & Kashmir), Aqib Shah (Rawalpindi), Ali Shan (Faisalabad), Bismillah Khan (Quetta), Faizan Saleem (Azad Jammu & Kashmir), Gulfam Aziz (Bahawalpur), Imran Rafiq (Multan), Mansoor Ali (Abbottabad), Mohammad Ali Taj (Islamabad), Mohammad Ammar (Bahawalpur), Mohammad Faizan Jnr (Peshawar), Mohammad Irfan (Lahore), Muhammad Hammad Khan (Islamabad), Sajjad Ali Hashmi (Abbottabad), Sharjeel Khan (Hyderabad), Shoaib Akhtar Jnr (Sialkot), Taj Wali (Azad Jammu and Kashmir), Zain Abbas (Multan)
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