Former Pakistan opening batter Ahmed Shehzad has criticized the country’s premier cricketers, claiming that top national stars are participating in domestic cricket not by choice, but purely to safeguard their central contracts.
A host of marquee names—including Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Fakhar Zaman, and Salman Ali Agha—have featured in the ongoing President’s Trophy first-class tournament, with Babar Azam slated to join the competition in the next round. Speaking on a private television sports show, Shehzad stated that their return to domestic four-day cricket is a contractual compulsion under the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) mandatory participation rules rather than an earnest desire to refine their red-ball skills.
Shehzad also raised concerns over the quality of domestic pitches, arguing that high-scoring surfaces that produce excessive runs undermine the purpose of domestic cricket. Referencing historic venues in Sialkot and Rawalpindi, he asserted that tracks must offer genuine assistance to bowlers to properly challenge batters, expose technical deficiencies, and prepare players for international standards.
The critique arrives following the PCB’s overhaul of its central contract framework for the 2026–27 cycle, which replaced the traditional A, B, C, and D grading system with a format-based, five-track model. Under the updated regulations, senior players are required to meet strict fitness and medical standards while fulfilling mandatory domestic appearance quotas, alongside having played at least four Tests, six ODIs, or six T20Is over the preceding 12 months to maintain eligibility.
