The Pakistan Cricket Board is currently finalizing the new central contract where some noticeable names are reportedly being axed.

The current contract is set to expire on June 30 and with the PCB management committee’s tenure coming to an end as well on the 21st of the month, the new contract is expected to be awarded sooner.

As for the new contract, a 20 per cent increase in players’ salaries is on the cards and some players are also expected to receive promotions in their categories.

Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, and Fakhar Zaman are likely to retain their positions in Category A. Pacers Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah are expected to receive promotions in their contracts.

Moreover, being a regular member in the Test format, Naseem is also favourite to earn himself a red-ball contract.

Middle-order batter Iftikhar Ahmed, young batter Saim Ayub, pacer Ihsanullah, leg-spinner Usama Mir, wicketkeeper Mohammad Haris, and pacer Zaman Khan, are expected to secure a place in the contract list as well.

Apart from that, former captain, Sarfaraz Ahmed, is also expected to retain his red-ball contract.

The final decision will be made after consulting with Pakistan captain Babar Azam and team director Mickey Arthur and head coach Grant Bradburn.

Former batter Azhar Ali, veteran batter Fawad Alam, rookie batter Haider Ali, batter Abid Ali, leg-spinner Yasir Shah, spinner Nauman Ali, middle-order batter Khushdil Shah, leg-spinner Usman Qadir, and leg-spinner Zahid Mehmood are also likely to lose their central contracts.