The PCB and the Pakistan men’s team players have reached a landmark agreement on central contracts, ending several months of deadlock and uncertainty. For the first time in Pakistan, three-year contracts have been put in place – rather than the standard 12 months – along with a significant increase in player earnings, as well as a fixed share of revenue from the PCB’s earnings from the ICC.
The agreement comes nearly three months after the most recent central contracts expired on June 30. Ever since, Pakistan’s players had been playing without receiving any retainers or other financial compensation. ESPNcricinfo understands the PCB offered the players the option to continue the payment structure of the old contracts until the new deal was struck, an offer the players turned down.
While the players and the board were far apart in terms of what they were willing to agree to for much of the last few weeks, the deal that has been struck is more generous for players than any in recent history. The monthly retainer was never really a sticking point, with Category A players receiving PKR 4,500,000 (USD 15,590), a more than four-fold increase over the previous year. The PCB had initially offered Category A players the option to play just one T20 league aside from the PSL, but agreed to allow all centrally-contracted players two additional leagues regardless of category of contract.
By far the biggest sticking point, though, was the possibility of revenue sharing. The players demanded a percentage of the revenue the ICC pays annually to the PCB, something the board was reluctant to agree to. In the end, the parties agreed to the players receiving a 3% share of revenue, which amounts to around USD 1 million (the PCB is set to earn USD 34 million per year from next year as a share of ICC revenue). This will be paid to players over and above their monthly retainers and match fees, which are also set to increase. While it is a far cry from Cricket Australia’s 27.5% revenue-sharing deal with its centrally-contracted players, or the BCCI’s 26%, the Pakistan players were keen to agree to any percentage, however small, to set a precedent.
The decision to extend these contracts to three years also provides all parties with medium to long-term certainty. This does not mean all players currently offered central contracts will keep them for the next 36 months, or even that they cannot be demoted. The contracts will be subject to annual review, with players potentially coming in or dropping out, but the infrastructure and framework of the contracts is set to remain unchanged till 2026.
Pakistan arrived in Hyderabad in India earlier today, where they play their warm-up games against New Zealand on September 29 and Australia on October 3. Their first game of the World Cup is also in Hyderabad, against the Netherlands on October 6.
Danyal Rasool is ESPNcricinfo’s Pakistan correspondent. @Danny61000
Source: ESPN Crickinfo