Veteran all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez to be awarded new central contract by PCB: Reports

Veteran Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez will be offered a new central contract in a higher category after he refused to accept a short-term contract some months back from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

The 40-year-old was dropped from the list of centrally contracted players last year in May along with Wahab Riaz, Shoaib Malik, and Mohammad Amir, but after he performed well the PCB was forced to offer him a short-term contract earlier this year. However, the middle-order batsman turned down the offer as he was not happy at being offered a spot in category C.

'Hafeez is likely to be offered a new contract'

According to a reliable PCB source, Hafeez is the only senior player who will be given the new central contract from July 1 while chances of other seniors like Shoaib Malik, Wahab Riaz, and Haris Sohail getting contracts is very slim.

"The cricket committee of the PCB will be meeting with the head coach, coaches, and captain of the national team when it returns from Zimbabwe after which the chief selector will sit down with the management and PCB CEO and finalize the list of players to be given the new central contracts," the source said.

 "Hafeez is likely to be offered a new contract in an enhanced category while senior batsman and former captain, Azhar Ali is likely to be demoted from category A to B as he is now playing just one format," he added.

The existing contracts end in June and the source said that due to the prevailing COVID-19 situation the board is also considering giving players some financial rewards in their contracts for spending long periods in the bio-secure bubbles at home and on away tours.

Mohammad Hafeez's illustrious cricketing career

 Mohammad Hafeez has established himself as a force to reckon with, especially when it comes to limited-overs cricket. The 2017 Champions Trophy winner has contributed significantly both with bat and ball and has successfully carved a niche for himself in Pakistan's line-up. 

The former skipper has been one of Pakistan's most prominent cricketers for more than a decade and a half and having played 55 Test matches for Pakistan, the seasoned campaigner has amassed 3652 runs in the longest format, and he also has picked up 53 wickets. He has also featured in 218 ODIs and has 6614 runs to his name along with 139 scalps. 

 Hafeez continues to represent the Men In Green in the shortest format of the game. He has played 99 T20Is for the 2009 T20 World Cup winners where the all-rounder has made several match-winning contributions for the Pak national team in the format. He has amassed 2323 runs, and also has 14 half-centuries to his name. Moreover, Hafeez also has 54 wickets to his name. 

(With PTI Inputs)