PCB to 'complete performance, fitness evaluation' of new players by end of ongoing series

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has decided to complete the performance and fitness evaluation of new players by the end of the ongoing three-match Test series against England.

PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi on Sunday held a separate meeting with the mentors which was followed by a joint huddle with the selection committee members and mentors to review the team's recent performance and players' fitness.

The two-hour-long meetings came after the national side suffered their sixth consecutive loss in the red-ball format wherein they crumbled against England's 823-run mammoth total, which resulted in a defeat by an innings and 47 runs in the first Test at the Multan Cricket Stadium.

The home series is part of the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 and Shan Masood's men need to improve if they are to preserve their chances in the tournament as the Green Shirts are currently ranked at ninth spot.

Since the Friday's defeat, the board has already made changes to the national selection committee with the inclusion of former cricketer Aqib Javed, ex-captain Azhar Ali and former International Cricket Council (ICC) umpire Aleem Dar on the panel.

Additionally, Hassan Cheema was also confirmed by the board as the new addition to the committee. Meanwhile, right-handed batter Asad Shafiq retained his membership of the committee.

During the meeting, PCB Chairman Naqvi and the mentors agreed to complete the process of evaluating the performance and fitness of new players by the end of the ongoing series.

With the PCB head issuing directions for the improvement in the quality of the pitches, the selection committee and mentors also pitched in with suggestions on related issues.

The huddle was attended by selection committee members Javed, Ali, Dar, Cheema, adviser Bilal Afzal, Domestic Cricket Director Abdullah Khurram Niazi, High-Performance Centre Director Nadeem Khan and mentors Shoaib Malik, Misbah-ul-Haq, Waqar Younis and Saqlain Mushtaq.

Whereas, mentor Sarfaraz Ahmed and selection committee member Asad Shafiq participated via video link.

Meanwhile, in a separate development, reported to Geo News by sources earlier today, star batter Babar Azam was likely to be rested for the upcoming match which is set to commence on October 15 (Tuesday) in Multan.

Insiders said that the suggestion to rest the "out-of-form" former captain has been given by the selectors due to his below-the-par performance in the first Test match with the English side.

Moreover, the team's playing XI is likely to see the addition of two spinners with the names of left-arm spinner Noman Ali and off-spinner Sajid Khan in consideration.