The Pakistan Cricket Board has scratched off their A category, aka the most elite category, from their recently published 2025-26 Central Contract list. This means the longtimeflagbearers of Pakistan Cricket Babar Azam and Mohammed Rizwan, have been demoted to Category B. Pakistan has enlisted 30 names in the Central Contract list for the 2025-26 international session. But Azama and Riwan's demotion was noticeable. However, it was not something foreseeable, especially with the dip in form they started suffering since 2022. Their poor form reflected in the 2024 T20 World Cup, and both have been axed from the recent squad in the Asia Cup 2025. Over the past six months, both Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan have lost their leadership roles in Pakistan’s white-ball teams. Babar was even left out of the Test squad for the home series against England. Meanwhile, Rizwan’s form has dipped, leading to Mohammad Haris taking his spot in the T20I setup. As a result, neither Babar nor Rizwan was included in Pakistan’s 17-member squad for the 2025 Asia Cup, announced on Sunday, August 17. Read also: Rayudu on Boundary Rope Row in T20 WC Final Catch Controversy Five promoted, eight axed from Central Contract Five players have earned promotions based on their performances last year. Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, and Shadab Khan have all been upgraded to Category B contracts. On the other hand, eight cricketers have missed out on central contracts this time. Those left out from Category D include Aamir Jamal, Haseebullah, Kamran Ghulam, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Huraira, Muhammad Irfan Khan, and Usman Khan. PCB Central Contract 2025-2026 Category B (10 players): Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Rizwan, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shadab Khan and Shaheen Shah Afridi Category C (10 players): Abdullah Shafique, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Sahibzada Farhan, Sajid Khan and Saud Shakeel Category D (10 players): Ahmed Daniyal, Hussain Talat, Khurram Shahzad, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Salman Mirza, Shan Masood and Sufyan Moqim