Karachi, Nov 30 Newly appointed Test skipper Shan Masood was upgraded from Category D to B in the Pakistan Cricket Board’s central contract list.
Masood had recently taken over the helm of the Pakistan Test side from Babar Azam and the 34-year-old is due to lead Pakistan for a three-game series against Australia, starting December 14.
This call was taken in line with the board’s policy that if a centrally contracted player below A or B categories were to be appointed captain, then their contract should be upgraded to category B for their tenure, an ICC report said.
The left-handed top-order batter was recently named full-time captain and has featured in 30 Tests, scoring 1597 runs at an average of 28.5 with four tons to his name.
Pakistan are currently No.1 on the World Test Championship table, having defeated Sri Lanka 2-0 in a series in July.
The first Test commences in Perth from December 14 to 18, followed by the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne from December 26 and the series concludes with the third Test in Sydney from January
3 to 7, 2024.