It’s going from bad to worse for the Pakistan cricket team. Three of their top players, Mohammad Rizwan, Azam Khan, and Irfan Khan, have been ruled out of the PAK vs NZ T20I series. Fascinatingly, the man to blame for these players’ injuries falls upon their own chairman, Mohsin Naqvi.
The absurd origin and result of Kakul army camp
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief wanted the Pakistani team to take army training at the Kakul Academy in Abbottabad. Funnily enough, he wanted them to train with the army to hit ‘big sixes’. That training camp happened in late March and early April. A month later, three of their players are out with injuries.
Pakistan cricketers were seen carrying rocks on their heads while going uphill. During the intense training, Azam Khan even failed a 2-km fitness test. Meanwhile, others like Babar Azam, Imad Wasim, Fakhar Zaman, and Haris Rauf decided to skip due to injury or unavailability.
Pakistan Cricket
Rizwan uncertain for the T20 World Cup 2024
This desire to make their players strong has resulted in Mohammad Rizwan, their star batter and wicketkeeper, not getting ruled out of the PAK vs NZ T20I series but also putting him in jeopardy for the T20 World Cup 2024.
Rizwan is expected to be out of action for the next two T20 series against Ireland and England in May. But, he may even be unavailable for the first few matches of the mega event in the USA and West Indies.
According to the PCB, Rizwan, and Irfan Khan are being rested. They’ll join Azam Khan at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Lahore as they undergo treatment.