Pakistani cricketers must pay $500 fine if caught sleeping in dressing room: reports

Karachi: Any player caught sleeping in the Pakistan dressing room will be fined $500, as per the new Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) introduced by the team management, led by national team director Mohammad Hafeez. According to reports, the implementation of the new SOPs will begin during the ongoing Australia tour.

The decision comes after some players who were not part of the playing XI during the time of the previous management took a nap in the dressing room. Based on a Geo Super report, the new rules have not been positively received by some players.

While few supported Hafeez’s stance of bringing professionalism to the dressing room, others complained about a player’s freedom. Some even expressed frustration, comparing the regulations to those of a U-16 team.

Hafeez, nicknamed ‘Professor’, stressed that the SOPs are being put in place to maintain high standards during a crucial tour and also told the players to be on their feet at all times when on the ground.

Trailing 0-1 in the series, Pakistan will once again be on the back foot in the second Test in Melbourne. Australia led by 241 runs at the end of the third day of play. Australia lost their first four wickets for 16 runs in the second innings, but a 153-run stand between Steve Smith and Mitchell Marsh put the hosts in a good position. Marsh was out for 96 and Smith for 50 to leave Australia at 187/6 at stumps.

Marsh fell just shy of his fourth Test century after Salman Ali Agha held a spectacular diving catch at the slips. Smith battled his way to his first Test 50 since the Ashes off 176 balls, the second-slowest half-century of his career. Pat Cummins earlier took his 10th total of five wickets in Test matches to help Australia take a 54-run first-innings lead.