Senior Pakistan players Abdul Razzaq, Shoaib Malik and Kamran Akmal do not feature in a list of 36 players selected for a month-long training camp to be held at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore starting May 6.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) though has included a number of out-of-favour players like Nasir Jamshed, Yasir Hameed, Imran Farhat, Taufiq Umar, Faisal Iqbal and Muhammad Sami in an effort to build a better team for the 2015 World Cup.
The new selection committee headed by former skipper Moin Khan and member Muhammad Akram, who is also head coach at the national cricket academy, said at a press conference here that the idea was to test the fitness of these players.
"Our first priority is to put these players through a 15-days fitness program and give them targets to meet. From now on any player who does not meet our standard fitness requirement will not be considered for selection," Moin said.
Moin, 42, also said that another camp would be held after the month of Ramazan to test out the junior players.
"We have some tough series coming up in coming months and the biggest problem confronting the Pakistani players is fitness and improving mental strength. They are not short on natural talent," he said.
"If our players are 100 percent fit and their bodies can handle the rigours then they will automatically also become mentally stronger. These two things and self belief are required for us if we want to do well in the coming series particularly the World Cup."
Moin, who is also manager of the national team, said Pakistan can win the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand but first and foremost they need to attain complete fitness and work on mental strength.
"Without these two assets no team can compete at the top level.
