Pakistan's elite women cricketers to undergo online fitness tests; PCB assure players won't be penalised for failing to meet benchmarks

Lahore: Pakistan’s 38 elite women cricketers will undergo online fitness tests from Monday with an aim to maintain the required fitness standards during the lockdown. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has made it clear that it will not penalise the players who fail to meet the desired benchmarks but it expects the players to give their best. [caption id=“attachment_8353261” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational photo. Reuters[/caption] According to the PCB, the players will undergo Prone Hold, Bulgarian Squats, Vertical Jumps and Push Ups along with Body Mass Index calculation and in the backdrop of Ramadan, the tests will be held outside the fasting hours till 20 May. “The tests will have no financial implications on the centrally-contracted cricketers and will be conducted under the supervision of Imran Khalil, who has been assigned the role interim fitness trainer,” PCB said on its website. Urooj Mumtaz, chair of the national women’s selection committee, said, “The modern day game requires players to maintain optimum fitness levels at all times. Our aim is to develop a fitness-driven culture and inculcate this within the system in order to produce elite athlete.” “Considering that these are unprecedented and uncertain times and the players are confined to train in whatever spaces are available to them, the testing battery has been modified to ensure they can be conducted without any equipment while staying indoors.” “At this stage, there will be no financial penalties in case a player fails to meet the desired benchmarks. However being professional cricketers we urge all the players to maintain their fitness levels to make sure that they are ready to go when cricket resumes.