File photo: Aqib Javed (centre) said that the PCB was looking towards having different teams for the three formats. | Photo Credit: AP

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and national selectors have started the process to have separate teams for the three different formats of the sport with categorisation of central contracts being the first step.

Aqib Javed, a senior selector and head of development at the PCB’s High Performance Centre, said in an interview that the new format-based categorisation in the central contracts was the first phase of a plan to have different teams for Test, ODIs and T20 Internationals.

The former pacer told Geo News that due to the demands of modern day cricket it had become difficult to have specialised players for all formats.

“The format-based central contract is the first step towards separating teams for each format. This is only the beginning. Eventually, every format could have its own dedicated squad. We will have to do this, and immediately, Test and T20 teams must be separated because the two formats cannot be played in the same way,” he said.

The PCB is yet to announce the list of players who will get the new contracts.

Aqib said a lot of thought has gone into the process and the main aim was to ensure players who are Test match specialists are not at a disadvantage compared to those who play a lot of white ball cricket.

“Now, if a player only plays Test cricket, he will be assessed against other Test players and compensated accordingly. The best performers in the Test category will earn up to PKR 4 million per month, while those with lower performances will receive between PKR 3 million and PKR 3.5 million.

“Similar performance-based categories will apply to Test-ODI and ODI-T20 players,” he added.

He said players, in order to qualify for the central contracts, must feature in at least six first-class matches for the Test category central contracts.

Test-category players will be granted No Objection Certificates (NOCs) for overseas four-day competitions, while players in the Test-ODI category may receive permission to participate in one franchise league.

Meanwhile, cricketers in the ODI-T20 category must play at least two List A matches and 10 domestic T20 matches and will be eligible for two NOCs.

Players contracted solely in the T20 category will be required to participate in domestic T20 competitions but may otherwise play franchise cricket.

Aqib stated that salaries in the Test-ODI category could rise to as much as PKR 4.8 million per month.

“You can’t expect a player who has had his base in T20 cricket and has been playing the format for 2-3 years to suddenly succeed in Test cricket,” he said.

Published on Jun 24, 2026