Misbah Younis Khan fitness tests Pakistan Cri

ISLAMABAD: Elderly batsmen Misbah ul Haq and Younis Khan are set to be the fittest players as they have topped the fitness tests set by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to match the players strength according to the international standards.Talking to APP a PCB official said Test captain Misbah (41) and senior batsman Younis Khan (38) are the fittest players in the test despite their age.The Pakistan cricket team fitness trainer Grant Luden had set up a points system for the fitness tests (17 set as the target) which both of them have achieved, he said.Younis attainted 18 points while Misbah’s report is yet to come but he has cleared the test with an edge.He said some players who could not reach the level include T20 captain Sarfraz Ahmed, Umar Akmal, Sohaib Maqsood, spinners Saeed Ajmal and Zulfiqar Babar.They failed to attain the required points in the different fitness tests.He further said that the players who will pass the test will be rewarded in some way financially while the ones who fail would be given a time frame to achieve the given fitness target.If the ones who fail would not achieve the given fitness test in the given time frame then they will be fined, he added.He also rubbished all reports that some players had complained that standards were kept lenient while taking tests of players including ODI captain Azhar Ali and pacer Wahab Riaz.This did not happen. However the players who had failed the tests must have been bluffing around, he said.Shahid Afridi, Muhammad Hafeez, Haris Sohail and Imad Wasim could not appear in the tests due to some injuries.The official said a 15 day camp of the players for preparation of the series against England in July will be held in Abbotabad from May 15. PCB has also employed Asad Rizvi (nutritionist and sportspsychologist) to hold counseling sessions with the players.