Bismah Maroof retained in Category A of central contracts

Veteran cricketer Bismah Maroof, who is on maternity leave, has retained her Category A contract while Nida Dar has been promoted to Category B ahead for the 2021-22 season. In all, a total of 20 women cricketers received contracts, up from 18 last year. Maroof's contract extension is in line with PCB's new parental policies unveiled on May 4.

Fatima Sana, recipient of PCB's Women's Emerging Cricketer of the Year Award in 2020, made the step up to a Category central contract, while the other eight cricketers who were handed Emerging Contracts last year have been retained. Nashra Sandhu and Kainat Imtiaz have been handed Category C contracts while Sidra Nawaz, who held a Category B central contract last year, has been demoted to Category C for the upcoming season.

The PCB also revealed that to incentivise top-performers, the women's national selection committee has announced an open spot in the central contracts to reward one player for outstanding on-field performance during the year. Meanwhile, across the spectrum, women's players will receive a 10% hike on their monthly remuneration this year.

All central contracts have been awarded after factoring in the on-field performances in the past one year at both international and domestic level, and with an eye on the future engagements. Javeria Khan, the only other recipient of a Category A contract, will continue leading the national side in the three T20Is and five ODIs against West Indies in Antigua. They are also scheduled to host England for two T20Is and three ODIs in October, before they play ICC Women's Cricket World Cup Qualifier in December with the World Cup proper and Commonwealth Games scheduled for 2022.

Central contracts for women's cricketers for 2021-22 season:

• Category A - Bismah Maroof, Javeria Khan

• Category B - Aliya Riaz, Diana Baig, Nida Dar

• Category C - Anam Amin, Fatima Sana, Kainat Imtiaz, Nahida Khan, Nashra Sandhu, Omaima Sohail, Sidra Nawaz

Emerging contracts for women's cricketers for 2021-22 season:

• Ayesha Naseem, Kaynat Hafeez, Muneeba Ali Siddiqui, Najiha Alvi, Rameen Shamim, Saba Nazir, Sadia Iqbal and Syeda Aroob Shah