Former captain Misbah-ul-Haq slammed the fitness standards of current Pakistan players and said that their tummies are visible and the reason behind it is no fitness Test in the set-up for the selection. Misbah lashed out at the players after Pakistan’s big defeat against England in the warm-up match for T20 World Cup. Pakistan were reduced to 160/8 in 19 over-a-side match and England made a mockery of the chase by achieving it in just 14.5 overs.
Misbah was not impressed with the players’ body language and stated that only a few in the team take fitness seriously.
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The former Pakistan captain suggested that some of the former coaching staff and he himself left the team because they were not considered good trainers and coaches as they pushed others out of their limitations.
“Clear cut, fitness issues are visible, Waqar left four times [as coach], I left once. Players like myself, Shoaib Malik, and Younis Khan were quite into fitness, and we used to push ourselves. Those who push others out of their limitations are not considered good trainers nor good coaches. Their tummies are visible; their lower are heavy and they can’t move. The reason behind this is there has not been a single fitness test, there is no benchmark," Cricket Pakistan quoted Misbah as saying.
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Misbah further slammed the cricket board and revealed that the fitness test in Pakistan domestic season has become a joke and none takes it seriously there.
“Fitness test level during domestic season becomes a joke. We used to have arguments that we used to say that the standard used for the international level must be used for the domestic level as well. The responsible people at the domestic level always opposed us related to fitness," he added.
Pakistan had a dominant run in the group stage of last year’s T20 World Cup where they beat arch-rivals India which was their first-ever win over them in World Cup events. They will start this year’s campaign against India once again. The high-octane clash will be played at Melbourne Cricket Ground.
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