No compromise on fitness: Saleem Jaffer

KARACHI: Pakistan's newly appointed chief selector Saleem Jaffer has made it clear that players with poor fitness records would not be shown any leniency during his tenure.
"We have decided that there will be no compromise on fitness," he said.
Jaffer met Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Ejaz Butt along with captain Shoaib Malik and later held a preliminary meeting with the two new selectors Ejaz Ahmed and Shoaib Mohammad in Lahore.
"The Chairman had invited the selection committee for a briefing ahead of the Hong Kong Sixes and the Abu Dhabi series which are scheduled for next month. Actually this is a short term selection committee with these two assignments at hand," he said.
"We had a positive meeting with the captain and the Chairman in which he encouraged us all and told us that he had faith in our abilities and that he will support all decisions of the independent selection committee," Jaffer added.
He said the selectors would watch the first two matches of the Pentangular tournament from October 25 to assess the fitness of some of the players before naming the squad for Abu Dhabi.
"By the 26th, 27th we will give a list of 20-25 probable players to the board, which will be further reduced to 15 after consultations with the captain," he stated.
Pakistan plays three ODIs against the West Indies in Abu Dhabi from November 12 to 16 with the West Indies Cricket Board also considering a request to play two Test matches at the same venue.