"Tummies Visible": Ex-Pakistan Captain Lambasts Babar Azam-led Side's Fitness Level
They begin their 2022 T20 World Cup campaign against India and before that their fitness level has failed to impress Pakistan great Misbah-ul-Haq
Pakistan were given a wake-up call in their recent warm-up game against England on Monday ahead of the 2022 T20 World Cup. They misfired in all departments and lost the match by six wickets. Though players like Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan did not play the game, the Pakistan XI had stars like Shan Masood, Shadab Khan, Asif Ali among others. Pakistan managed to score 160/8 batting first, but England chased down the target in just 14.4 overs. They begin their 2022 T20 World Cup campaign against India and before that their fitness level has failed to impress Pakistan great Misbah-ul-Haq.
"Clear cut, fitness issues are visible, Waqar left four times [as coach], I left once. Players like myself, Shoaib Malik, and Younus 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," Misbah, a format captain of the side, was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
"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."
The star batter also added that the fitness level of Pakistan domestic players was abysmal. "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 said.
Misbah was the head coach of the Pakistan men's team from September 2019 to September 2021.
Pakistan Cricket Team
India Cricket Team
Babar Azam
Misbah-ul-Haq