The fourth term fitness tests of the centrally contracted players will be held here at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) on January 6 and 7.
All the available centrally contracted players will attend the two-day testing, which is aligned to their contracts.
Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Amir and Shadab Khan, who are pre-occupied with their commitments in the Bangladesh Premier League, will undergo the tests on January 20 & 21, a PCB spokesman said, here Friday.
The fitness tests, to be conducted by Yasir Malik, the strength and conditioning coach of the Pakistan national men's team, will cover five major areas, namely fat analysis, strength, endurance, speed endurance and cross-fit, and will carry equal weightage.
A player failing to meet the minimum fitness requirements will be fined 15-per cent of his monthly retainer, which will remain effective until such time he achieves the minimum fitness standards. Player failing consecutive tests will risk the chances of retaining his central contract category and may face demotion.
Zakir Khan, PCB - Director, International Cricket, said: "There has always been an emphasis on the monitoring of players' fitness levels. This time we have decided to enforce penalties, which is in accordance with the contracts, as part of our objective to make the players more accountable and responsible for maintaining high fitness standards throughout the year, which is one of the basic requirements any professional athlete. All the players were informed last month of the PCB's expectations and potential sanctions in the scenario of failures."
Khan said, "These fitness tests will not be limited to the centrally contracted players, but will trickle down to the six Cricket Association teams. Their tests will be conducted by their respective coaches and trainers as per their own schedules and players failing to pass fitness tests will jeopardise their chances of featuring in the Pakistan Cup One-Day Tournament to be held from 25th March to 19th April."
Centrally contracted players are:
Category A - Babar Azam (Central Punjab), Sarfaraz Ahmed (Sindh) and Yasir Shah (Balochistan);
Category B - Asad Shafiq (Sindh), Azhar Ali (Central Punjab), Haris Sohail (Balochistan), Imam-ul-Haq (Balochistan), Mohammad Abbas (Southern Punjab), Shadab Khan (Northern) and Shaheen Shah Afridi (Northern);
Category C - Abid Ali (Sindh), Hasan Ali (Central Punjab), Fakhar Zaman (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Imad Wasim (Northern), Mohammad Amir (Northern), Mohammad Rizwan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Shan Masood (Southern Punjab), Usman Shinwari (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) and Wahab Riaz (Southern Punjab).
AFP adds: Pakistan's Cricket Board (PCB) on Friday warned the national players to meet fitness standards or lose up to 15 percent of their salary, as officials seek to address the team's fall in the international rankings.
New head coach Misbah-ul-Haq had stressed fitness will be paramount as he tries to lift standards. "All the available centrally contracted players will attend the two-day testing on January 6 and 7 in Lahore and any player failing to meet the minimum fitness requirements will be fined 15 percent of his monthly retainer," said a Pakistan Cricket Board release Friday.
The cut will be maintained until the player gets fit again, it said. Any player failing consecutive tests "will risk the chances of retaining his central contract category and may face demotion," warned the PCB.
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