Published: Apr 29, 2014, 11:19 PM (IST)
Edited: Apr 29, 2014, 11:19 PM (IST)
Karachi: Apr 29, 2014
Senior Pakistan players Abdul Razzaq, Shoaib Malik and Kamran Akmal do not feature in a list of 36 players selected for a month-long training camp to be held at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore starting May 6.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) though has included a number of out-of-favour players like Nasir Jamshed, Yasir Hameed, Imran Farhat, Taufiq Umar, Faisal Iqbal and Mohammad Sami in an effort to build a better team for the 2015 World Cup.
The new selection committee headed by former skipper Moin Khan and member Mohammad Akram, who is also head coach at the National Cricket Academy, said at a press conference in Karachi that the idea was to test the fitness of these players.
“Our first priority is to put these players through a 15-days fitness program and give them targets to meet. From now on any player who does not meet our standard fitness requirement will not be considered for selection,” Moin said.
Moin, 42, also said that another camp would be held after the month of Ramazan to test out the junior players.
“We have some tough series coming up in coming months and the biggest problem confronting the Pakistani players is fitness and improving mental strength. They are not short on natural talent,” he said.
“If our players are 100 percent fit and their bodies can handle the rigours then they will automatically also become mentally stronger. These two things and self belief are required for us if we want to do well in the coming series particularly the World Cup.”
Moin, who is also manager of the national team, said Pakistan can win the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand but first and foremost they need to attain complete fitness and work on mental strength.
“Without these two assets no team can compete at the top level.”
Asked about the absence of Razzaq, Kamran and Malik from the camp he said this didn’t mean they were out of the selectors’ plans.
“They can go back to domestic cricket and perform. Right now we picked players on basis of recent performances and how they have fared in domestic cricket. We have also recalled some players because we want to see finally where they stand and whether they have in them to serve Pakistan cricket for a few more years,” Moin added.
Akram and Moin both said that plans were also being drawn up for the pace bowlers to use them properly at the top level.
Akram, who was until recently bowling coach of the national team also said that they had proposed that if players didn’t meet fitness standards than they would face fines.
“It is responsibility to work on fitness. Misbah is a great example but players who don’t pay attention to this aspect of their game will be fined because we are going to give specific targets starting from this camp,” he said.
List of probables: Ahmed Shahzad, Nasir Jamshed, Sharjeel Khan, Taufiq Umar, Shan Masood, Imran Farhat, Yasir Hameed, Khurrum Manzoor, Misbah-ul-Haq, Asad Shafiq, Younis Khan, Umar Akmal, Azhar Ali, Faisal Iqbal, Sohaib Maqsood, Haris Sohail, Fawad Alam, Muhammad Hafeez, Shahid Afridi, Anwar Khan, Bilawal Bhatti, Abdul Rehman, Zulfiqar Babar, Reza Hasan, Atif Maqbool, Yasir Shah, Umar Gul, Muhammad Talha, Ehsan Adil, Muhammad Irfan, Wahab Riaz, Rahat Ali, Sohail Tanvir, Muhammad Sami and wicketkeepers Sarfaraz Ahmed and Adnan Akmal.
