U19 women cricketers to undergo fitness assessment

Lahore:The Pakistan Cricket Board will hold online fitness assessment of 19 U19 women cricketers from today.

The assessment is designed to keep the up and coming cricketers focused and motivated during the Covid-19 pandemic, which has put a halt on outdoor physical activities.

The players will take tests from 22-26 June in which their hand-eye coordination, body balance, core muscle and lower body strength along with upper body endurance will be gauged.

The investment on this group of emerging players is in line with PCB’s strategy of enhancing the pool of women cricketers by creating an U19 pathway programme.

These players were picked on the basis of their performances in the Skills2Shine U18 Women T20 Championship, a four-team tournament which was held in Lahore in November last year. Following the tournament, the players underwent a 14-day-long training camp at the Hanif Mohammad High Performance 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 to be successful and thrive in this day and age. It is important that the players are made aware of these requirements right from the moment they enter the system.

“With the aim to create a fitness-centric environment, these players have been engaged in training programmes provided by the strength and conditioning coach over the past two months. The testing battery has been designed keeping in mind the challenges of training indoors in these unprecedented times. The basic purpose behind this assessment is to gauge the baseline fitness of this group along with keeping them involved and motivated.

“The investment in women cricketers at the emerging and age group level is of great significance for the PCB as they are the future of the game and it is important that the board regularly engages with these players and assists them in understanding the essential attributes of modern day cricket. The PCB through its Skills2Shine and Cric4us initiatives has undertaken 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).