LAHORE, April 26: Thirteen of the 39 probables called up for the national training camp gave their fitness tests on Thursday in a bid to qualify for selection in the three-match one-day series against Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi starting May 9.

The players who appeared for the tests includes Imran Farhat, Salman Butt, Kamran Akmal, Taufiq Umar, Imran Nazir, Shabbir Ahmed, Zulqarnain Haider, Abdur Rehman, Mohammad Irshad and Mohammad Khalil.

More probables will appear for the tests on Saturday, the day training camp begins here. Shafqat Rana, a member of the selection committee, said all the 38 probables would have to pass the fitness tests before joining the training camp.

However, sources said most players failed to impress the officials with their fitness level on Thursday.

Shafqat alongwith manager-cum-coach Talat Ali and PCB medic Dr Sohail Saleem later felt that since the players were just beginning their training after quite sometime, it would take them a couple of days to get into shape.

The fitness problem, of late, has been a grey area for Pakistani cricketers with so many of them including Mohammad Yousuf, Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Asif, Umar Gul, Rana Naved, Abdul Razzak and Kamran Akmal getting frequent injuries during matches.

Opinion

Editorial

A difficult story
Updated 12 Jun, 2026

A difficult story

Unless productivity becomes the dominant target of economic policy, Pakistan will continue to oscillate between crises and fragile recovery.
Rough waters
12 Jun, 2026

Rough waters

AMONGST the key potential triggers for fresh conflict in South Asia is water. The Indian state is behaving in an...
Politicised football
12 Jun, 2026

Politicised football

ALMOST three-and-half years since Lionel Messi led Argentina to FIFA World Cup glory, the latest edition of...
GB polls’ aftermath
Updated 11 Jun, 2026

GB polls’ aftermath

The new administration must address the region’s issues proactively.
Peace in retreat
11 Jun, 2026

Peace in retreat

THE ceasefire announced in April was supposed to create space for negotiations. Instead, it has been repeatedly...
A few good men
11 Jun, 2026

A few good men

IT was a brave move, no doubt. This Tuesday, in the land of the Afghan Taliban, a few good men decided to take a...