Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi Face Salary Cuts as PCB Reacts to Poor Performance

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is planning to cut the salaries of several players, including Babar Azam and Shaheen Shah Afridi, due to the team’s consistently poor performance in recent matches. The team’s recent defeats, particularly in the ODI series against West Indies and the T20I series against Bangladesh, have prompted the PCB to take drastic measures. The board intends to remove the 3% ICC revenue sharing clause from the central contracts, which could result in substantial financial losses for the players. This move is expected to be in effect before the Asia Cup 2025, potentially impacting the players by $6 million. The PCB had increased its spending on player retainership last year, but is unlikely to increase match fees. Under the current contract, players receive 1.2 million rupees for a Test match, 600,000 rupees for an ODI, and 400,000 rupees for a T20I. Category A players, including Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, receive 657,500 Pakistani rupees each month. The salary cuts will significantly affect all players, as they will no longer receive the ICC revenue share.