In late 2004, the Board of Control for Cricket in India introduced central contracts for international players for the first time, and Pathan was given a B-grade contract. 2005 began rather poorly for Pathan. He took only six wickets at 68.33 in the home Test series against Pakistan after losing pace and accuracy.[36] In the last two matches, he managed totals of 2/122 and 1/160, conceding more than four runs an over as the Pakistani batsmen scored heavily.