Mushfiqur, who retired from T20Is last year, now has a Test and ODI contract while Shoriful Islam has an ODI and T20I contract. Tamim Iqbal, like Mushfiqur, has a Test and an ODI contract, and are the only two in this category.

However, there was no room for Shadman Islam, Yasir Ali, Mahmudul Hasan Joy and Mohammad Naim in any category.

BCB's cricket operations chairman Jalal Yunus said that Zakir and Mahmud were rewarded for their improvement in the previous year, while the board is hopeful that Joy, who broke through in the early parts of 2022, will take it up a notch to secure a contract next year.

"We tried Mahmudul Hasan Joy a lot last year. It is not a discouragement, but we want him to earn back the place. We are not discarding him. He can come back, but he has to work hard. Non-contract players are obviously available [for selection]."

As is the norm, the BCB didn't reveal the players' salaries, but ESPNcricinfo understands that all 21 cricketers will get a slight hike in their monthly pay this year. It is also unlikely that the BCB didn't raise the match fees, as these are usually increased once every two years, so a raise was due this year.

Full list of BCB central contracts

All formats: Litton Das, Shakib Al Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Mehidy Hassan Miraz
Test and ODIs: Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim
Test and T20Is: Najmul Hossain Shanto, Nurul Hasan
Tests only: Mominul Haque, Taijul Islam, Ebadot Hossain, Khaled Ahmed, Zakir Hasan
ODIs only: Mahmudullah
ODIs and T20Is: Mustafizur Rahman, Afif Hossain, Shoriful Islam
T20Is only: Nasum Ahmed, Mahedi Hasan, Mosaddek Hossain, Hasan Mahmud