Pakistan cricket team players’ activeness on the field has been under scrutiny by experts and former players. Even the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) probably noted this and now the team is going to train with the army.
Yes you heard it right. The ‘Men in Green’ are all set to go on a 10-day rigorous training with Pakistan army from 25 March to 8 April, a week after the Pakistan Super League (PSL) concludes on 18 March.
PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi announced the new update and said he is hopeful the players will get their fitness ‘up to speed’.
ALSO READ: Babar Azam, coaches neglected team’s fitness; some Pakistani players couldn’t finish 2-km run, claims Mohammad Hafeez
“When I was watching the matches in Lahore, I don’t think a single one of you hit a six that went into the stands. Whenever a six like that was hit, I used to think a foreign player must have hit that. I have asked the board to make a plan that gets every player’s fitness up to speed. You’ll have to make a proper effort for that,” ESPNcricinfo quoted Naqvi as saying.
“We have New Zealand coming up, then Ireland, England and the T20 World Cup. I wondered, ‘When will we train?’ but there was no time. However, we’ve found a window, where we’ve organised a camp in Kakul (military academy) from March 25 to April 8. The Pakistan Army will be involved in your training, and hopefully, they’ll help you out.” he added.
If someone thinks, that this a rare in Pakistan cricket that they would under nation’s army to regain fitness, this is not true. The Pakistan cricket team, during Misbah-ul-Haq’s captaincy ring Misbah-ul-Haq’s captaincy, had organised a training camp with the military at Kakul Academy in order to get prepared for their Test series against England.
In the series, Misbah scored a century in the first Test and then celebrated by doing ten pushups, that was followed by a military salute.
Emphasizing on the importance of players prioritizing national duties instead of focusing on T20 Leagues, Naqvi said, “I’m not going to say you mustn’t earn money, or ask you to make sacrifices we are also not ready to make. But let me give you one example. One year ago, I was asked to become the chief minister of Punjab, and it caused me a financial loss in my business. I had to leave that aside and incur several extra costs. But I had a desire to represent Pakistan, and so I had to make that sacrifice.”
“I will support you 100 per cent, but I’ll just ask you to make Pakistan your first priority, and T20 leagues your second priority. It’s unfortunate when money becomes first priority and the country second. If you do that, then we might have a problem. We can even look at central contracts and bolster them further if you desire, but you must be available for Pakistan first and foremost,” Naqvi added.
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Published: 06 Mar 2024, 06:10 PM IST