Pakistan players to get historic salary hike; top players could earn PKR 4.5 million per month!

Ahead of the major multi-national tournaments, Pakistan players received some welcome news in the form of upcoming central contracts, which will result in a historic pay rise. According to reports, players in the top category - Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Shah Afridi - are on course to receive PKR 4.5 million (USD 15,900 approx) a month as a retainer. This is four times more than the amount in last year's contracts.

There were earlier reports that many senior Pakistani players were unhappy with the new central contracts offered by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and refused to sign the contracts. The players were not impressed with the pay initially offered, and after returning from a recent tour to Sri Lanka, they held talks with new PCB chief Zaka Ashraf.

Notably, Babar and Co. flew to Sri Lanka despite not being in a contract as it expired on June 30. Pakistan cricket was already in the middle of controversies regarding Asia Cup and ODI World Cup venues, but this time they had trouble within their own family. However, the PCB has now cleared it before it gets worse and encouraged the players ahead of major world tournaments.

Meanwhile, B category players will get around PKR 3 million (approx. USD 10,600), while C and D category players will get between PKR 0.75-1.5 million (approx. 2650-5300 USD) respectively. If the new salary contract gets approval from all the concerned parties, it will be the biggest rise in the history of Pakistan cricket.

Earlier, Babar, Shaheen and Rizwan earned less than Rs 4 lakh per month and less than Rs 50 lakh per annum, indicating that the Men in Green were one of the poorest earning cricketers in the world. As the franchise cricket league is widespread, cricketers from all over the world are earning well, but not the case with Pakistani players as they do not participate in one of the richest leagues - the Indian Premier League (IPL).

However, the new central contracts will bring changes in their financial status. Meanwhile, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, and Ravindra Jadeja make nearly six times more than Pakistan players under the Indian Cricket Board. It is noteworthy that the PCB's income from the Cricket Governing Body will also increase from next year.