karachi: Former Pakistan cricket director Mohammad Hafeez says former captain Babar Azam and foreign coaches Mickey Arthur and Grant Bradburn prioritize team fitness ahead of ODI World Cup in India He claimed to have been thinking about it.
Pakistan, led by then-captain Babar, failed to advance to the semi-finals and finished in fifth place, losing five of their nine league matches.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) recently did not renew Hafeez’s contract after a disastrous tour of Australia and New Zealand. Hafeez was appointed team director at the end of 2023 following Pakistan’s disastrous World Cup defeat.
Shortly after he took over as manager, Pakistan suffered a crushing defeat in the three-match Test series and lost 4-1 to the Kiwis in the five-match T20I series.
“When I took over as manager (in 2023) and arrived in Australia, I told the team trainer to submit a report on the fitness standards of the players and prepare a new fitness plan,” Hafeez said. he said.
“He said that his former captain (Babar) and head coach (Arthur) told him six months ago that fitness is not a priority at the moment and to let the players play the way they want,” Hafeez said. revealed on ARY Sports Channel.
“When he (team trainer) told me that he had been told not to check the fitness of the players, this was shocking news for me,” Hafeez added.
Hafeez said the players’ body fat percentage and endurance levels were well below international cricket standards.
“Fitness in modern cricket is a top priority for all teams.”
Hafeez claimed that when some athletes were tested in Australia, they were unable to even complete a 2km run.
“The players’ skin folds (body fat levels) were 1.5 points above normal limits,” he claimed.
Former Test captain Azhar Ali, who is also one of the experts on the TV show, recalls that when Pakistan won the Champions Trophy in England in 2017, fitness was a top priority, to the point where the coaching staff sent players to the squad. did. (Umar Akmal) came back because he failed the physical fitness test.
Arthur was the head coach of the team that won the Champions Trophy by defeating India in the final.
Hafeez also said that it took him three months to convince Babar Azam to leave the opening slot and bat at number three in T20 cricket.
This post was last updated on February 21, 2024 at 1:34 p.m.