Emphasis on fitness in PCB's new contracts

The PCB has asked its centrally-contracted players to undergo a fitness test, before they are considered for a new, year-long central contract. All centrally-contracted players are required to undergo the fitness test, though Umar Akmal, Mohammad Hafeez and Saeed Ajmal will take the test - being carried out on Monday and Tuesday - on a later date. Hafeez is currently unavailable for the test for personal reasons, Ajmal's just had his third son and Akmal is out of the country.

The contracts, which expired in December, 2011 were due to be reviewed after the England series in February - but it was delayed after a new selection committee headed by Iqbal Qasim was formed.

The PCB has decided to increase pay scales of those awarded the new contracts, given that there have been no increments in the last three-and-a-half years.

The PCB earlier issued six-month contracts to 29 players, spread over four categories. The new committee now aims to issue a year-long contract to each of its players. The committee met last week to discuss the central contracts, but sought more time to make its decision.

Among those likely to make a comeback is Shahid Afridi, the former captain, who had automatically lost his contract in May 2011 when he announced his retirement from international cricket, in protest against the board's decision to replace him as captain of the ODI team.

In the past the board has handed out central contracts to the players based on their performance and fitness, however now they aim to assess the fitness of the players and then gauge their future prospects.