South Africa cricketers to have fitness as 'special clause' in future central contracts

Former South African cricketer Mark Boucher was announced as coach of the South Africa cricket team in December 2019. He oversaw South Africa’s 2019-20 home season that yielded an ODI series win over Australia after a disappointing outing against England between December and January. Going ahead, the 147-Test veteran recently confirmed that Cricket South Africa (CSA) will soon be adding fitness clauses into the central contracts of their players. He added that the decision was taken in order to set up certain standards in players’ selection for South Africa’s international fixtures.

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Mark Boucher’s initiative towards players’ fitness

In an interview with ESPNCricinfo, Boucher said that Cricket South Africa will be implementing some fitness programs in order to emphasise the importance of fitness among their players. In the interview, the former cricketer also spoke highly about South Africa’s recent performance as a team. He cited South Africa’s ODI series win against Australia at home by saying the entire team gelled as a unit to put up an impressive outing. He also hoped for some consistency from the Quinton de Kock-led side by keeping in mind the two back-to-back T20 World Cups scheduled for 2020 and 2021.

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Mark Boucher on potential AB de Villiers

One of the most talked-about topics of cricket in South Africa at the moment is the potential return of retired batting superstar AB de Villiers. In an earlier interview with ESPNCricinfo, the veteran wicketkeeper-batsman said that if AB de Villiers performs well in the Indian Premier League 2020 (IPL 2020) season, then he will be selected in the T20 World Cup squad. The Proteas head coach also mentioned that it is not about "egos or anything like that" as it is all about sending the best team to the World Cup and try to win that competition. AB de Villiers is slated to represent Royal Challengers Bangalore in the now-postponed IPL 2020.

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