Pakistan 'star performer' Mohammad Hafeez gets C category contract from PCB; turns it down

Pakistan cricket team's senior player and Twenty20 specialist Mohammad Hafeez has declined a central contract offer from the country's cricket board. "The allrounder politely turned down a contract offer in category C for 2020-21," the Pakistan Cricket Board said in a statement on Wednesday.

'Mohammad Hafeez declined the reward'

"The decision to promote the players was made during a meeting with the Chair of the Selection Committee, Muhammad Wasim, while we were reviewing player performances in the 2020-21 season and discussing the upcoming commitments," PCB chief executive Wasim Khan said. 

“It was agreed during the meeting that three players were the most deserving and outstanding performers in the season to date and, as such, they needed to be rewarded now instead of waiting for the time when PCB Central Contract List for 2021-22 will be reviewed and announced. However, Mohammad Hafeez declined the reward and while I am disappointed, I fully respect his decision. He wants to wait for the PCB Central Contract 2021-22 list, which he is fully entitled to. Hafeez has been one of our star performers of the season and we hope he will carry the form and momentum to Africa," he said. 

“I am sure this merit and performance-based decision will once again send out a loud and clear message to all professional cricketers that the PCB will not only recognise, appreciate and acknowledge their performances and achievements but will also reward them so that they can strive to do better next time,” Wasim Khan added.

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Hafeez was among the world's top 5 run-scorer in Twenty20 internationals last year, but he didn't feature in the recent Twenty20 series against South Africa after failing to join the team in its bio-secure bubble in time.

While Hafeez has been without a central contract since 2019, in 2020 he was offered Category A match fees for any game he played for Pakistan during the year, as a special case given his seniority, according to a report in ESPNcricinfo. Hafeez's reason for declining the deal is that he is unhappy at being offered the lowest grade of contract, it added. 

Wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan and lefthanded batsman Fawad Alam got promotions in the updated list of central contracts after their impressive performances last year. Rizwan joined all-format captain Babar Azam, Azhar Ali and Shaheen Afridi in category A while Fawad, who had earlier only a domestic cricket contract, was elevated in category C.

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(With AP inputs)