Overview
- The Pakistan Cricket Board announced the overhaul at a Lahore press briefing on Monday, replacing traditional A/B/C/D categories with five format tracks that group players by Test, ODI, T20 and development pathways.
- The board set an 85% data-driven formula for contract and selection decisions and allocated the remaining 15% to selector discretion to reduce subjective bias.
- Each track has two internal tiers for promotion or demotion and players will be compared only with peers in their own track rather than across formats.
- Test specialists receive targeted protections including higher financial incentives and permission to play overseas first-class red‑ball competitions while being restricted from franchise T20 leagues.
- Eligibility now requires medical and fitness checks plus mandatory domestic participation, and the PCB will keep individual track assignments and contract distributions confidential with financial details to be reviewed each cycle.