Pak selectors continue to deliberate on CT squad

Pakistan`s national selection committee continued its deliberations for the third day on Wednesday with no signs yet of the final squad being announced for the ICC Champions Trophy.

Karachi: Pakistan`s national selection committee continued its deliberations for the third day today with no signs yet of the final squad being announced for the ICC Champions Trophy.

A source in the committee told PTI that one thing that had been decided by the selectors was that all players would have to undergo fitness tests before they are sent to England. "The team captain, Misbah-ul-Haq has infact insisted that fitness tests should be conducted before the squad is announced as the deadline for sending the final 15 names to the ICC is around May 5," the source said. Interestingly, besides the deliberations on the Champions Trophy squad the selectors have also been told to prepare a list of players who qualify for the new central contracts for 2013. "The selectors have been told to prepare a list of 20 players but they feel the list should be of atleast 25 players as the board`s idea is to do away with the retainer category," it said. In the past the board has announced central contracts in three categories A, B and C while a fourth category is of retainership. "This time the selectors have suggested having four categories for central contracts and only those players should be given contracts who are seen as strong candidates to play the 2014 T-20 World Cup and 2015 World Cup," it added. Although four months have passed this year the board is yet to give out central contracts which were also delayed last year. The source said some seniors might not be given central contracts this time around and will be told to keep on playing on series-to-series basis as and when their form and fitness allows them to be considered for selection. "There might be a few surprises this time around although the selectors and team management is divided on how much experimentation can be done in the Champions Trophy," another source close to the selectors said. PTI