Senior Pakistan cricketers not happy with current pay, want hike in match fees

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam, wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan, and pacers Hasan Ali and Shaheen Shah Afridi, who were recently awarded Grade A contracts, are apparently not happy with the current match fees they are getting. Currently, all four players are part of the West Indies series and have appealed to Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) regarding a hike in match fees.

The players are not happy as there was no increase in their Test, ODI and T20I match fees in the new central contracts. The 20 players including three emerging cricketers in the contract list will be awarded the same match fees as the other senior members like Azam, Rizwan, and Ali and hence, the senior players were not happy with the amount they were getting and wanted a hike for the same.

The new annual contracts released by PCB states an increase in the match fees in Test by 15%  ,and ODI and T20I remuneration by 20 and 25% respectively for B category. The players in category C too got a hike in match fees by 34, 50, and 67% in Test, ODI, and T20I formats respectively.

In category A, the PCB increased only the retainership percentage by 25 and that has what made Azam, Ali, Rizwan, and Afridi dissatisfied. One of the senior players has already carried out a protest with PCB director Zakir Khan and has stated his point on increasing match fees in category A.