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Lahore:The Pakistan Cricket Board Medical Advisory Committee (MAC) held its inaugural meeting at the National Cricket Academy on Thursday to discuss matters ranging from player safety to fitness and health protocols for domestic and international players.
The nine-member committee discussed the necessity of enhancing the medical standards – to meet the criteria set by the International Cricket Council – across all the venues in the country by educating the support staff associated with the board and developing the infrastructure.
A blueprint to improve the fitness levels of players – at both the domestic and international level – was discussed with a focus on how to bring the necessary changes in their lifestyles to meet the desired results.
The medical committee discussed how different injuries can be prevented in age-group cricket and the requirement for the implementation of regular cardiac screening amidst the rising number of cardiac attacks in the teenage athletes around the world, along with the introduction of a concussion rule in domestic cricket.
The committee also debated on the standardised safety protocols, including the playing equipment, for age-group, women’s, and men’s domestic and international cricket, along with the Pakistan Super League.
These recommendation, which will now be discussed by the PCB Cricket Committee before being rolled in the upcoming domestic season, will help in the production of robust and resilient players, who can put better performances in all three facets of the game and also recover quickly from injuries.
After its formation earlier this year, on 28 March 2019, MAC’s first challenge was to help Pakistan leg-spinner Shadab Khan recover from a bout of Hepatitis-C in time for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup. The committee worked meticulously to ensure Shadab’s participation in the showpiece event. The members put in their advices and took aid from the external experts.
Dr Sohail Saleem, PCB Head of Medical and Sports Sciences, said: “The PCB has a duty of care towards its players and I want to thank all the specialists for sharing their knowledge and insight that will only benefit our cricketers.
“We are looking to provide medical facilities of the international standard to our domestic players in the upcoming season. For the very first time, we will be introducing cardiac screening. The purpose of today’s meeting is to catch up with the other countries which have top-notch facilities.
“We want to enhance the performances of our players without any compromise on their safety.”
The following members attended the meeting:
Dr Kamran Butt, Dr Kazim Rahim Najjad, Dr Sohail Saleem, Dr Riaz Ahmed and Dr Zia Farooqi. Afsar bin Jaan (Physiotherapist), Dr Amer Khan, Dr Imtiaz Ahmed and Dr Najeebullah Soomro (joined via video link).