Pakistan cricket scraps top category as Azam, Rizwan demoted in contract review

This signifies a dramatic reshuffle after a period of underwhelming performances across formats.

Former captains Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, along with T20I skipper Salman Agha, Fakhar Zaman, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, and Shaheen Shah Afridi, have all been demoted to Category B.

The board cited "poor recent performances over the past 12 months" as the primary reason for the changes.

Azam and Rizwan notably lost their places in T20I squads ahead of a tri-series in Sharjah, involving Afghanistan and the UAE, starting 29 August, and the upcoming Asia Cup in Dubai.

Pakistan's T20 campaigns have been disappointing, including an early exit from the last T20 World Cup and a 2-1 series defeat in Bangladesh.

Test cricket results have been mixed: Pakistan beat England 2-1 at home last year but suffered a 2-0 defeat in South Africa and drew 1-1 against the West Indies at home, ultimately finishing last in the World Test Championship. This has seen Test captain Shan Masood demoted from Category B to D.

In ODIs, Pakistan experienced historic highs, winning their first series in Australia in 22 years last November and defeating South Africa 3-0, but crashed out in the first round of the Champions Trophy co-hosted in Dubai.