LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board has made several decisions for the uplift of the national team, which has struggled of late. Some of them have been taken in the past but their implementation has been an issue and whether it happens this time around remains to be seen.

A three-hour long meeting was held at the National Cricket Academy last week where PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi decided to make fitness tests and participation in domestic cricket compulsory for international players while also deciding that central contracts would now be reviewed on a yearly basis instead of three years.

The decisions were announced in a news release on Monday, which stated they were “aimed at strengthening cricket structure in the country besides enhancing performance of the national team”.

“Participation in domestic cricket is now compulsory for players, with the selection committee finalising the criterion with respect to participation in domestic cricket,” the PCB said in a press statement issued on Monday.

The PCB also said there would be zero tolerance on lack of fitness or indiscipline on the part of the players.

“Players who meet the standards of fitness and performance will be given the opportunity to progress,” it added. “The PCB chairman emphasised that there will be zero tolerance for indiscipline, and any player violating discipline will face strict action.

“Team unity and harmony are paramount, and players engaging in infighting will not be spared. The management is instructed to take stringent action against any such behaviour.”

The PCB, meanwhile, has accepted the demand of the players for a central contract review annually. The remuneration of the central contract, however, will not change.

“The decision has been made not to reduce the remuneration in the central contract of the national players,” the PCB stated. “The duration of the central contract will be one year, and it will be reviewed annually based on players’ performance and fitness. The inclusion of players in various categories of the central contract will follow a defined procedure.”

Selection committee members namely former batters Mohammad Yousuf and Asad Shafiq, PCB’s Director International Usman Wahla and Director High-Performance Centres Nadeem Khan will review the central contracts.

The PCB had asked players to feature in only two T20 leagues besides the Pakistan Super League as part of workload management and stressed that “a technical method for issuing No Objection Certificates (NOCs) for playing in leagues will be established, and players meeting the criteria will be granted NOCs”.

Pakistan’s white-ball and Test coaches Gary Kirsten and Jason Gillespie, meanwhile, have been tasked with presenting a final report on the establishment of high-performance centres in Islamabad and Peshawar.

There will also be separate coaches for the Shaheens and Underr-19 teams while the Director of High-Performance Centres has been tasked with improving the performance of the women’s team as well was reviewing their central contracts.

Published in Dawn, July 16th, 2024