ISLAMABAD – The Pakistan Cricket Board will hold online fitness assessmentof 19 U19 women cricketers from Monday.
The assessment is designed to keep the up and coming cricketers focused andmotivated during the Covid-19 pandemic, which has put a halt on outdoorphysical activities, said a press release.
The players will take tests from 22-26 June in which their hand-eyecoordination, body balance, core muscle and lower body strength along withupper body endurance will be gauged.
The investment on this group of emerging players is in line with PCB’sstrategy of enhancing the pool of women cricketers by creating an U19pathway programme.
These players were picked on the basis of their performances in theSkills2Shine U18 Women T20 Championship, a four-team tournament which washeld in Lahore in November last year. Following the tournament, the playersunderwent a 14-day-long training camp at the Hanif Mohammad HighPerformance Centre in Karachi.
Urooj Mumtaz, chair of the national women’s selection committee, said:“Physical fitness is one of the key elements for any cricketer in order tobe successful and thrive in this day and age. It is important that theplayers are made aware of these requirements right from the moment theyenter the system.
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“With the aim to create a fitness-centric environment, these players havebeen engaged in training programmes provided by the strength andconditioning coach over the past two months. The testing battery has beendesigned keeping in mind the challenges of training indoors in theseunprecedented times. The basic purpose behind this assessment is to gaugethe baseline fitness of this group along with keeping them involved andmotivated.
“The investment in women cricketers at the emerging and age group level isof great significance for the PCB as they are the future of the game and itis important that the board regularly engages with these players andassists them in understanding the essential attributes of modern daycricket. The PCB through its Skills2Shine and Cric4us initiatives hasundertaken various programmes to broaden the pool of women cricketers.”
List of players who will undergo fitness assessment: Anoosha Nasir(Karachi), Arijah Haseeb (Karachi), Fajar Naveed (Islamabad), Fatima Khan(Lahore), Gul Rukh (Lahore), Gul Uswa (Multan), Hamna Bilal (Islamabad),Hania Ahmar (Karachi), Khushbakht Waseem (Lahore), Laiba Fatima (Karachi),Laraib Malik (Lahore), Laveeza Munir (Lahore), Momina Riasat Khan(Abbottabad), Nazish Rafique (Lahore), Rida Aslam (Islamabad), Saima Malik(Quetta), Shawal Zulfiqar (Lahore), Yusra Amir (Karachi) and Zaib-un-Nisa(Charsadda).
