Pakistan cricket team is back to doing what they are best at, apart from losing! Once again, the team has pointed fingers at fitness issues after what was yet another debacle, sadly once again at home. That’s right, fitness is back in the focus following Pakistan’s loss to England in PAK vs ENG 1st Test. The issue is, however, the tip of the iceberg as per the PCB’s version, considering other pressing matters inculding captaincy, team selection, team unity and others that continue to haunt Pakistan.
Pakistan’s tryst with fitness tests ft. losses
Pakistan and fitness tests are made for each other. The team has resorted to putting its stars through tough drills right after every debacle that the team has encountered and before every big series that the team was going to play. Let’s begin with the ODI World Cup. Following the miserable campaign, Babar Azam and co. were forced to go through a fresh round of fitness test at the same time when PCB decided to hit the reset button, once again.
In a drill that would be unusual for any other cricket playing nation, Pakistan decided to get Babar Azam & co prepared for the T20 World Cup using the Pakistan Army earlier in 2024. The team was made to undergo military drills in an Army camp in Kakul. Well, the result wasn’t sweet, given that Pakistan crashed out in the group stage of the T20 WC.
The latest round of fitness tests was right before the PAK vs ENG series. A report claimed that several Pakistan team stars failed to achieve the fitness scores that were required, including vice-captain Saud Shakeel.
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Issues that Pakistan need to focus about rather than fitness
These three instances, handpicked amongst a few, point fingers at just one thing – fitness tests for players is an eyewash for Pakistan. The country’s cricket is in such sad state of affairs that a revamp would mean an overhaul of the management, selection committee and players altogether. While the PCB has kept the musical chairs going by replacing selectors and captains repeatedly, there seems to be no end to Pakistan’s problems. Adding fuel to the fire are the comments made by former Pakistan cricketers on the state of the sport in the country and the allegations of politics and corruption involved in the game.
Captaincy, ego clashes between veterans, unbiased selection, well-being of the players – these are some issues that Pakistan need to sort out immediately if they need to get back to winning track. While fitness remains an important aspect of the game, it is clearly not of the main reasons for Pakistan’s recent debacles.
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