The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has issued a stern warning to six to seven centrally contracted players that they must improve their fitness or risk losing their contracts. Pakistan team’s fitness trainers and physiotherapists will conduct another fitness test in Lahore on Monday after some players failed to meet the prescribed criteria in the test conducted earlier this month.
“Players on central and national contracts have been clearly informed that there will be no compromises regarding fitness and they must meet the benchmarks set by the team’s fitness experts,” a board source said.
“Foreign head coaches Jason Gillispie and Gary Kirsten have informed the PCB chairman that no players should be given an advantage as far as fitness levels are concerned,” the source said.
These physical fitness tests aim to assess stamina, endurance, muscle strength, and other important factors.
The PCB has postponed the publication of the list of players eligible for central contracts for the 2024/2025 period, which usually runs from July to July. Last year, the announcement was postponed to September due to a change in board leadership.
This year, the board is expected to reduce the number of players receiving central contracts from the existing list of 27, as the new coach also places greater emphasis on performance and behavior evaluation.
The official said Monday’s test was part of the evaluation process for players who were found to be struggling to meet standards during a physical fitness test earlier this year, giving them two months to improve their fitness. He said that it is part of the
The Pakistan team has frequently faced criticism regarding its fitness standards compared to other international teams. (“Let Virat Kohli stay”: RP Singh comes up with honest advice for RCB ahead of IPL 2025 mega auction)
After last year’s World Cup in India, team director Mohammad Hafeez and former captain Misbah-ul-Haq said former head coach Mickey Arthur and captain Babar Azam had encouraged the players to focus on performance. He revealed that he had instructed his trainer not to put any pressure on him in terms of fitness.
