Stressing the need for unity and cohesion in the team, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Syed Mohsin Naqvi made it clear on Monday that he would not tolerate any ‘grouping’ in the team, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
Chairing a three-hour-long meeting at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore, Naqvi said there would be no compromise on the violation of discipline. “I have zero tolerance as far as team discipline is concerned,” he stated categorically.
He announced that high-performance centers would also be built in Islamabad and Peshawar. “Garry Kirsten and Jason Gillespie will submit the final report in this regard,” the PCB chairman told the meeting.
He directed that work should be done on a war footing for the promotion of school cricket in the country.
He also directed that work on improving the standards of pitches in the country should start immediately.
He was of the view that investment in talent would produce the best players. “We will spend as much as we can on budding players.”
Naqvi informed that he had given a free hand to both Gillespie and Kirsten and hoped that it would produce the desired results.
Some big decisions were taken at the meeting to raise the standards of the game in the country as well as to improve the performance of the national team.
It was decided that each player would have to go through a fitness test every three months.
The meeting also decided that every player would be bound to play domestic cricket whose schedule would be announced by the selection committee.
It was also agreed not to reduce the amount paid to players who are on central contract for the time being.
Besides that, the contract period would be for one year.
Moreover, it was concurred that the performance of these players as well as their fitness would be checked every year.
The meeting decided that only those cricketers would be issued no-objection certificates (NOCs) for playing league cricket, who would meet the required criterion.
The PCB chairman also directed the concerned officials to submit a plan for the upgradation of high-performance centers as well as improving the capacity of trainers to hone the skills of players.
White Ball head coach Garry Kirsten, Red Ball head coach Jason Gillespie PCB Chief Operating Officer Salman Naseer, Director International Cricket Usman Wahla, Assistant Coach Azhar Mehmood, members of the selection committee Muhammad Yousaf, Asad Shafiq, Bilal Afzal, Director High- Performance Centers Nadeem Khan, and Director Domestic Cricket Abdullah Khurram Niazi were also present on the occasion.
Reporters: Rozeena Ali and Waseem Ahmad