LAHORE: Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan and opening batter Imam-ul-Haq will reportedly be unable to participate in the upcoming domestic cricket competition due to a fitness test requirement.
According to sources, both players will not be able to feature in the President’s Trophy Grade-I because they did not undergo fitness tests with their respective departmental teams.
Under the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) rules, teams are required to conduct fitness tests for players and submit the relevant reports before a cricketer can be eligible to play first-class cricket.
Sources said that neither Rizwan nor Imam has a fitness report available with their respective departments. As a result, both players are currently ineligible to participate in domestic cricket.
Rizwan serves as vice-captain of Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL). He was expected to lead the team in the opening round in the absence of captain Shan Masood.
SNGPL are scheduled to play their opening match against State Bank of Pakistan from tomorrow.
Meanwhile, Imam-ul-Haq is the captain of Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL), whose opening match against Pakistan Television (PTV) is also scheduled to begin tomorrow.
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The development comes after both cricketers were recalled from Pakistan’s tour of England. According to the report, investigations against the two players are also underway.
The absence of Rizwan and Imam could be a significant setback for their departmental teams as they prepare for their opening matches in the domestic first-class competition.
ICC Announces August Player of the Month Nominees — Who Will Win?
Earlier, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced the nominees for the Player of the Month award for August, with cricketers from Bangladesh, England and Sri Lanka making the shortlist.
Sonal Dinusha from Sri Lanka, Ollie Robinson from England and Hasan Mahmud from Bangladesh have been shortlisted for the award.
Sonal Dinusha got his nomination on the basis of his exceptional performance in two Test matches against India where he scored 420 runs in the series.
Ollie Robinson from England was nominated on the basis of his exceptional bowling performances against Pakistan in the first and second Test matches of the series. Ollie Robinson had taken eight wickets in both the matches.
Hasan Mahmud from Bangladesh also gave an exceptional performance during the Darwin Test match against Australia as he had taken six wickets in the first innings and three wickets in the second innings, totaling nine wickets in the game.
ICC Player of the Month award in August would go to one of the three nominated cricketers.
