Pakistan's World Cup campaign overshadowed by payment dispute drama

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Despite grappling with the PCB over wages and match fees, the national cricketers were unable to translate their efforts into positive outcomes during the ongoing 2023 World Cup subsequent to the Asia Cup.

According to the details, the central contract dispute was also blamed for the poor performance of the national cricketers in the mega-event tournaments.

Players remained entangled in financial matters even before the departure, resulting in a decreased focus on the game. In the final moments before departure, the board reached agreements with the players by accepting their conditions and finalizing contracts.

According to sources, a financial windfall has occurred for the players in the new central contract. The process of providing equal match fees to all four categories had already begun.

Now, after a 50% increase in Test match fees, it has reached 1,257,795. The fees for playing a One Day International has increased by 25%, now totaling 644,620 rupees. With a 12.5% increase, players will receive 418,584 rupees for participating in a T20 international match.

Category A, which includes Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, and Shaheen Shah Afridi, will receive a monthly contract of 4.5 million rupees [45 lacs] with a 202% increase. A 3% share of the ICC revenue for the fiscal year 2023-24 amounts to 1.53 million rupees [15 lacs 30 thousand]. Consequently, during the tenure, a total of 6.03 million rupees [60 lacs 30 thousand] will be transferred to their accounts each month.

In the B category, consisting of Sarfaraz Ahmed, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, and Shadab Khan, their monthly salary has reached 3 million rupees [30 lacs] after a 144% increase. With the inclusion of their ICC share, totaling 1.14 million rupees [11 lacs 47 thousand 5 hundred], they will receive a monthly sum of 4.14 million rupees [41 lacs 47 thousand 5 hundred.

Imad Wasim, Abdullah Shafiq, Abrar Ahmed and Noman Ali, who are in the C category, which received a 135% increase, will receive Rs 765,000 from the ICC in the Rs 1 million per month [10 lacs], making it a total of 1.76 million per month [17 lacs 65 thousand].

In the D category, with a 127% increase, players including Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Ihsanullah, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Waseem Junior, Saif Badar, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel, Shahnawaz Dahani, Shan Masood, Usama Mir, Zaman Khan, Arshad Iqbal, Aamer Jamal, and Tayyab Tahir will receive a monthly salary of 750,000 rupees. With the addition of their ICC share of 382,500 rupees, they will be paid a total of 1.13 million every month [11 lacs 32 thousand 5 hundred].

In the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons, the ICC share will increase to 2.07 million [20 lacs 70 thousand]. For Category A, 1.5 million [15 lacs 52 thousand 5 hundred]. For Category B, 1.03 million [10 lacs 35 thousand]. For Category C and Category D 517,500 [5 lacs 17 thousand 5 hundred]  on a monthly basis. So, each category will receive monthly amounts as follows: 6,570,000 for Category A, 4,552,500 for Category B, 2,035,000 for Category C, and 1,267,500 for Category D.

A player included in the squad but not playing in the XI receives 70% of the match fee. Additionally, during any home or away series, if the captain doesn't play all matches, he still receives a entertainment allowance of $400 per week. If there is a vice-captain appointed, they are given $100 per week in the same manner.

After the toss, if a scheduled match cannot take place for any reason, the team receives half of the match fee. No compensation is given for a match that is abandoned. In case of a player's injury or substitution due to concussion, 100% of the match fee is awarded for player replacing that injured player. Any prize money for winning an event is equally distributed among all players. One part belongs to the team management. 

If a player gets the man of the series award, only 25% of the amount goes to him, the remaining 75% goes to other players, one part belongs to the team management.

PCB also provides awards for the Man of the Match in Test and One Day International (ODI) matches with 300,000 rupees, while in T20 internationals, it is 150,000 rupees. The Man of the Series receives 600,000 (Test), 500,000 (ODI), and 250,000 (T20) respectively, and these amounts are exclusively awarded to the winning player. Additionally, at the conclusion of each series, players receive compensation for the placement of sponsor logos on their shirts.

The match-win bonus is a separate amount. Beating the top 3 teams in the ICC rankings and India earns a match fee equivalent bonus. A 75% bonus on the match fee is awarded for defeating teams ranked 4th to 7th. Half the match fee is paid for defeating other teams.

In Test matches, the ICC Test Championship takes into account the positions of opponents. Winning a series against the top 3 teams in the ICC rankings earns a match fee 200 times the regular amount. A 150% match fee bonus is awarded for a victory against teams ranked 4th to 7th. Beating other teams results in a 100% match fee.

In Test matches, the positions of opponents are considered in the ICC Test Championship. Winning the final of an Asia Cup or ICC tournament earns a 300% match fee bonus. The Pakistan team has missed this opportunity in the Asia Cup and World Cup.

Even for winning four matches in the World Cup, each player will receive approximately 6 million rupees only as match fees. From the ICC, for the mega event, they will receive a separate amount of nearly 70 million rupees. This includes $100,000 for the innitial round matches and an additional $40,000 per match for winning four matches, totaling $160,000.

Players under the central contract will also receive substantial match fees for playing domestic matches. The fee for a four-day match is 628,898 rupees, for a one-day match it is 322,310 rupees, and for a T20 match, it is 209,292 rupees.

It is worth noting that the PCB has allocated 528 million rupees in the annual budget for central contracts for players. This includes an additional 220.3 million, which is 3% of the ICC revenue. In total, this amounts to 748.3 million rupees [74 crore 83 lacs].