The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has taken a serious step ahead of the upcoming three-match Test series. England National Cricket Team. The governing body is learned to have warned 6-7 players that they will have to maintain their fitness or else face suspension, PTI reports.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) conducted fitness tests of players earlier this month and several players reportedly failed to meet the requirements. And after that, the governing body has now decided to hold a Fitness Test in Lahore on Monday (September 30) before the Tests against England.
Reports claim that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has firmly told the players that they will not compromise on their fitness and must meet the requirements. It is also learned that head coaches Gary Kirsten and Jason Gillespie have asked the chairman not to give any fitness preference to any player.
A source close to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) confirmed the development to PTI. He noted: “Players with central and local contracts have been made clear that there will be no fitness concession and they have to meet the criteria set by the team’s fitness experts,” a board official said.
“Two foreign coaches, Jason Gillispie and Gary Kirsten, told the PCB chairman that no player should be given an advantage because of their fitness level.” He added.
The PCB has given two months to struggling players to meet the criteria in fitness tests
Reports claim that fitness tests aim to assess endurance, stamina, muscle strength and other important factors. Team Pakistan has been under intense scrutiny since the last few months and the PCB is making sure they emphasize on fitness.
It is learned that the PCB had earlier this month given two months to players who struggled to reach the benchmark in fitness tests to improve their fitness. The tests on Monday will be part of the evaluation process, the reports added.
Fitness has become the talk of the town in Pakistan after former director of cricket Mohammad Hafiz revealed that coach Mickey Arthur and captain Babar Azam instructed the coach not to pressurize players on fitness and focus on performance. This stirred things up in Pakistan Cricket and since then the players have come under severe scrutiny.
The performance of the team is also not at the desired level. After their failure in T20 World Cup 2024, they lost the test series against Bangladesh National Cricket Team. The Shan Masood-led side went down 2-0 and also lost their chances for the final of the ICC World Test Championship.
Pakistan will be seen in action when they take on the England National Cricket Team in a three-match series. The series will begin on October 7 at the Multan Cricket Stadium in Multan, followed by the second game on October 15 at the same venue.
The series will conclude on October 24 in Rawalpindi, which will host the final match. The Shan Masood-led side will hold a pre-match camp ahead of the series opener in Multan, which begins on October 1.
 conducted fitness tests of the players earlier this month, and reportedly, few players didn't meet the requirements){kind=link}