What's new

There should be no compromise on fitness standards in international cricket

Major

T20I Captain
Joined
Aug 28, 2013
Runs
40,210
Post of the Week
7
Look at what Sharjeel did. People here talk about fitness isn't important, well the guy just left a very important catch.

Pathetic fitness by this guy, what an embarrassment
 
2 boundaries happened because of his poor fitness as he can't even make a dive.

Again, where are those posters who say that fitness doesn't matter
 
Been saying this for a long time, sharjeel shouldve never been picked. He is a liability in the field and in terms of setting a bad example for future cricketers that lazy and unfit players get rewarded..
 
For once I agree with you. It’s international cricket. Have some shame. I’m not saying you need to look like an athlete but you can’t be fat
 
Will be interesting to see how posters defend this.

Of course, we'll have the usual excuses about the sky being blue and whatnot.

:facepalm
 
Absolutely atrocious fielding by him. Couldn't even put in the dive to save a boundary.

The missed catch was remarkably incompetent fielding.

Everything that was said about him inregards to fitness ended up being right.
 
Last edited:
What is the upside of playing a player like Sharjeel Khan? Convicted for involvement in fixing, doesn’t look like an international athlete.

I have no problem in a banned player completing his punishment and getting back in to the scheme of things but seriously if a cricketing giant like Pakistan which has passion and following for the game and resources can’t replace a player like Sharjeel, then it should be a red flag.

At least Amir still had some skills left but he himself is a good template of desperate inclusions.
 
You are right, but I don't think those missed dives and catch was due to fitness. He could have attempted the dive if he wanted to, he got close enough even with his slow running. Same with positioning for that catch, if he was a bit more proactive in the field even with poor fitness he could have taken it.
 
Look at what Sharjeel did. People here talk about fitness isn't important, well the guy just left a very important catch.

Pathetic fitness by this guy, what an embarrassment

Its embarrassing enough that we selected a fixer but an overweight slogging fixer is pathetic.
 
That missed catch was startling but I'm not sure if it was directly due to a lack of fitness.

The position he got himself into (much ahead of the ball), no way even the fittest cricketer could have turned back and dived for it.

I'm guessing what happened was that he was just wool gathering, lost focus, suddenly there's a catch and he runs ahead in a blind panic, and finds himself ahead of the ball, sighting it too late, or even not at all.
 
What surprises me most about Pakistan is how the media magically starts backing someone out of the blue just because they think he has "intent".

For months there has been a narrative in the media that Sharjeel should be selected at all costs and should be played as an opener. Regardless of how well Rizwan is doing, regardless of how atrocious his fitness is, regardless of the fact that he can't rotate the strike, regardless of the fact that he has a 1/5 chance of playing a useful innings.

If this isn't humble pie for them, I don't know what is.
 
You are right, but I don't think those missed dives and catch was due to fitness. He could have attempted the dive if he wanted to, he got close enough even with his slow running. Same with positioning for that catch, if he was a bit more proactive in the field even with poor fitness he could have taken it.

I seriously doubt his ability to dive seeing how fat he looked
 
This thread is gonna be comedy gold.

I can still picture his bemused face after losing the ball in the sky.

And we have members clamouring for his inclusion.

The guy is a liability. Everything that Sharjeel is was showcased today. One slog. The straight balls were missed or played for dots. Holes out. Lost in the field and the ultimate embarrassment was the mess he made of that attempted catch.

Is this the best opening bat we can find from a population of 216M.

God have mercy on Pak fans.
 
That missed catch was startling but I'm not sure if it was directly due to a lack of fitness.

The position he got himself into (much ahead of the ball), no way even the fittest cricketer could have turned back and dived for it.

I'm guessing what happened was that he was just wool gathering, lost focus, suddenly there's a catch and he runs ahead in a blind panic, and finds himself ahead of the ball, sighting it too late, or even not at all.

Yes always hard to sight the ball in the clear blue sky. Give me a break lol
 
This thread is gonna be comedy gold.

I can still picture his bemused face after losing the ball in the sky.

And we have members clamouring for his inclusion.

The guy is a liability. Everything that Sharjeel is was showcased today. One slog. The straight balls were missed or played for dots. Holes out. Lost in the field and the ultimate embarrassment was the mess he made of that attempted catch.

Is this the best opening bat we can find from a population of 216M.

God have mercy on Pak fans.

Let's just hope he exposes himself so badly that he's not in the World Cup squad.
 
That's why i said he was likely wool gathering, ie probably wasn't concentrating.

You can do backflips and defend him all you want but a fit cricketer could have easily taken this catch. This was a mix of incompetence, lack of presence of mind and terrible fitness.

All three of those factors should disqualify you from being an international cricketer.
 
The fact that a professional athlete can't even get his weight and fitness to the bare minimum standard in order to represent his country potentially at a World Cup is the reddest of all flags (aside from the spot-fixing obviously).

As I said in a previous thread. Wasn't only the catch, the ball found him on the fine leg boundary and he barely made an effort to stop it.

His batting may be "modern" but his fitness and fielding are decades in the past.
 
Forget his fixing for a second, his appalling fitness is enough reason not to select him.
 
So Kohli being the fittest cricketer in the world means he takes all the catches coming towards him also?

Can’t take OPs with clear agendas seriously at all!
 
You can do backflips and defend him all you want but a fit cricketer could have easily taken this catch. This was a mix of incompetence, lack of presence of mind and terrible fitness.

All three of those factors should disqualify you from being an international cricketer.

:)) I not defending him. Since I'm not a Pakistani fan, I couldn't even care less whether he plays or sells pakoras on the street.

I'm just calling it as I saw it. I think he was focused elsewhere, or not at all- which is worse when you think of it.
 
As I said in a previous thread. Wasn't only the catch, the ball found him on the fine leg boundary and he barely made an effort to stop it.

His batting may be "modern" but his fitness and fielding are decades in the past.

I wouldn't call playing 9 dot balls in a 12 ball innings as ''modern'' batting, especially in the powerplay.
 
I wouldn't call playing 9 dot balls in a 12 ball innings as ''modern'' batting, especially in the powerplay.

Perceived to be modern rather. I was referring to the clamour to get him in because he can apparently give Pakistan the start the likes of Roy and Bairstow give to England. In reality I don't think he should be anywhere near the team.
 
So Kohli being the fittest cricketer in the world means he takes all the catches coming towards him also?

Can’t take OPs with clear agendas seriously at all!

Kohli drops catches a lot of them but also he is lightning fast in the field. Also he probably has a lot more drops because his reaction time to
Convert to go for half chances are definitely multiple
Times more clear than Sharjeel. Anyway you seem to be Sharjeel fan, so good luck to him.
 
People need to relax. Yes he is not body beautiful and he will not reach the desired fitness standards in one go. He is making a comeback and that also in a T20 game. Making a come back as a batsman in T20 Cricket is never easy. He deserves a few more chances.

Only a few weeks ago people were calling Fakhar a hack and now look at where he stands.
 
People need to relax. Yes he is not body beautiful and he will not reach the desired fitness standards in one go. He is making a comeback and that also in a T20 game. Making a come back as a batsman in T20 Cricket is never easy. He deserves a few more chances.

Only a few weeks ago people were calling Fakhar a hack and now look at where he stands.

Due if he was committed towards cricket he would have spent the 2 years banned in getting fit to be selected again. Osntead he gained more weight and came back unfit


I will repeat again, Pakistan fans lack self respect, a payer who fixed and then clearly does not respect the game or fans enough to work on fitness is worshipped by fans
 
So Kohli being the fittest cricketer in the world means he takes all the catches coming towards him also?

Can’t take OPs with clear agendas seriously at all!

The only agenda are from people who support a convicted fixer who takes Pakistani team and fans so for granted, that instead of working on fitness in 2 years banned, came back even more unfit and obese because he knows some fans with zero self respect will still worship him
 
Kohli has a six pack like Brad Pitt

But he is a bigger butter fingers than Danish Kaneria!
 
Not talking about any particular player but, as I have maintained previously the fitness of an athlete shows his overall attitude towards his game. To achieve the best an athlete can with his level of skillset can only be done if he has the right attitude. Yes, without a doubt some people can have extreme level of skills that despite not the best fitness and attitude they turn out to be good players of the game but, most of them would still be considered underachievers with regards to the raw skillset they possessed.

You cant change the level of your skills more than a certain level but, fitness, fielding and overall attitude are controllable factors and in today's competitive cricket you need to put in a serious effort towards all these controllable factors and not let them be obstacles in between you and success.
 
Last edited:
Fitness and Pakistani cricketers never go hand in hand.

This has been the case since the beginning of their cricketing history. Sharjeel is the rule, not the exception.

The fixing thing is the bigger red flag about him.
 
Its not that difficult to hide a fielder in T20 cricket. Sharjeel did a decent job in the field for KK (something which Babar also mentioned), and that was because Imad placed him at right positions.

Bigger question is, why was Sharjeel placed at long on ?
 
Its not that difficult to hide a fielder in T20 cricket. Sharjeel did a decent job in the field for KK (something which Babar also mentioned), and that was because Imad placed him at right positions.

Bigger question is, why was Sharjeel placed at long on ?

This is indefensible. Sharjeel is only to be blamed for Sharjeel's actions and not Babar or anyone else for placing him in an area where he executed those actions.
 
So Kohli being the fittest cricketer in the world means he takes all the catches coming towards him also?

Can’t take OPs with clear agendas seriously at all!

You bash a performer like Rizwan and support someone like Sharjeel. :rizwan
 
I mean, you can take someone who's a little chubby, like Stirling for example. It obviously does impact on the running but once you can still run between wickets, play long innings etc and, very importantly, are damn good, you can make a small leeway.

But Sharjeel jesus, the man is genuinely so damn fat. I can't think of a single worse ambassador for your team. A hack, a convicted fixer, and extremely overweight. Genuinely, it must poison the dressing room as a guy busting yourself to get a game to see someone like that getting called up.
 
Due if he was committed towards cricket he would have spent the 2 years banned in getting fit to be selected again. Osntead he gained more weight and came back unfit


I will repeat again, Pakistan fans lack self respect, a payer who fixed and then clearly does not respect the game or fans enough to work on fitness is worshipped by fans

It's a trade off. He is one of the best ODI and T20 openers in the country. His fitness atm is a big negative and the team management, the PCB is working over drive in him to address it
 
Does anyone ever see Chris Gayle diving around in the field? nope.

Would Chris Gayle make an effort to dive if required? Nope.

Does Chris Gayle run a lot when batting? Nope.

Yet, he’s still currently the best T20 opener.

Point is, every team can afford to have a lazy player in the team, as long as he’s not fielding at deep backward point.

India has Rohit and Pant.
Bermuda had Dwayne Leverock.
 
The fat man is a fair representation of what our current cricket culture is. Less hardwork and planning and more reliant on once in a lifetime individual miracles.
 
The fixing rules in the country are atrocious. Anyone who has had anything to do with fixing, should be banned for life. Period. It is awful that guys keep coming back but its not actually Sharjeel's fault that he went through with the punishment allocated, like what do people expect him to do ... "hey guys, I have fixed matches so while you have forgiven me, I cant forgive myself and I will keep myself away from cricket"?


Coming to his selection, we dont exactly have a massive talent pool. We may discuss and debate the reasons -- and there are quite a lot of reasons -- but the end result is we just dont have people. We can set our standards very high but then how would we get people to align to those standards. Pakistan doesnt have the best fitness culture either (side note, did anyone notice the freakin huge birthday cakes, I bet sharjeel must have dug in each time) so if we get someone who can atleast be good in one aspect, we get that player in. We CANNOT, I repeat, we CANNOT have Babar and Riz opening our batting in T20s that is a recipe for disaster, we tried Haider and he has failed to take the opportunity. Who do we have left now?

So in summary, I absolutely dislike that Sharjeel has come back and I hope we find better players, but at this point, the cupboard is bare my friends.
 
Does anyone ever see Chris Gayle diving around in the field? nope.

Would Chris Gayle make an effort to dive if required? Nope.

Does Chris Gayle run a lot when batting? Nope.

Yet, he’s still currently the best T20 opener.

Point is, every team can afford to have a lazy player in the team, as long as he’s not fielding at deep backward point.

India has Rohit and Pant.
Bermuda had Dwayne Leverock.

I see what you did there ! :genius
 
Some really suprising posts.

These are the pisters who talk about making pakistan cricket great.

Sharjeel left a catch due to his fitness and cost us 8-12 runs as he cant even field.

Dont understand how anyone could even argue after that
 
Does anyone ever see Chris Gayle diving around in the field? nope.

Would Chris Gayle make an effort to dive if required? Nope.


Does Chris Gayle run a lot when batting? Nope.

Yet, he’s still currently the best T20 opener.

Point is, every team can afford to have a lazy player in the team, as long as he’s not fielding at deep backward point.

India has Rohit and Pant.
Bermuda had Dwayne Leverock.

Chris Gayle put in 2 separate dives yesterday to stop the ball in the IPL, one was at a key point in the game, RR chasing 220 fell short by about 5-10 runs so you can say his dives were very crucial.
 
It's a trade off. He is one of the best ODI and T20 openers in the country. His fitness atm is a big negative and the team management, the PCB is working over drive in him to address it

How did he become the 'best' by being out of the team for years? Is it because he didn't play and fail like the incumbents did? #ScrapingTheBarrel
 
Bottom line :
If you have that attitude regarding hardwork and fitness you don't belong in the team. Simple as that. It's the same mindset that led to Umar Akmal's downfall.
 
I’m not too keen on him being in the squad for obvious reasons, as someone said in an earlier post Pakistani fans lack self respect and it’s true.

This guy shouldn’t be any where near an international team. As people have pointed out earlier he’s had 2 years being banned from because of FIXING yet hasn’t taken it upon himself to lose any weight or improve his fitness and even has the nerve to come out and say fitness isn’t everything.

No other cricket board would entertain such crimes but looking at some of these posts I’m baffled. Comparing Chris Gayle who isn’t a fixer and is 10x the t20 batsman this guy is.

He’s had one game and will be granted a few more it seems. To reiterate, an overweight cheat and corrupt player being welcomed back into the team shows how lacking in respect we truly are and if we can’t see that then our demise in cricket over the past decade is no surprise.

Let’s not all act upset or surprised when other Pakistani players are also caught fixing when all we do is welcome them back instead of showing them the door.
 
You would think that for someone who was banned for fixing, he would make an effort to maintain his fitness at least. I mean, he is already in everyone’s bad books. The last time he wants to do is further annoy his coaches, team mates and fans by turning up looking like a balloon. But that’s exactly what this shameless player did. Not only is he a a fixer, he is a mediocre player with pathetic attitude and if it was up to me, he wouldn’t even play domestic cricket, let alone international cricket.
 
He may have been banned for spot fixing, but the only thing he was fixing during his ban was his spot first in line at the all you can eat buffet. Embarrassing.
 
Can't believe this guy has "fans" lmao...

You've got to have as much cricketing IQ as a raccoon to be a f@nboy of the guy who is a spot fixer, is embarrassingly unfit and is mediocre at the same time.
 
See told you so. Maybe next time Babar can tell him to visualise the ball as a giant samosa or pakora and he may catch it. I mean just imagine Azam Khan and Sharjeel opening the batting for Pakistan in england..i mean the commentators will be itching to mention their fitness!!

He is a joke of a cricketer. i dont care if he comes off once in a blue moon, he is a joke.

And the comparison to Kohli? have you people lost your minds. Kohli is a machine. He will train like a mad man because he knows he has to stay fit to prolong his career. he understands what it means to be a professional and as [MENTION=3327]Indiafan[/MENTION] said we lack self respect. Shurum aur haya hoti hay. Your representing your nation for goodness sakes..

I never thought I would see the day where Kohli the fielder would be compared with Sharjeel the maota!!
 
Was against his inclusion in the domestic circuit from the first day but our fans were so eager because he scored 150 vs The Mighty Irish Team.
 
This is indefensible. Sharjeel is only to be blamed for Sharjeel's actions and not Babar or anyone else for placing him in an area where he executed those actions.

Sharjeel is a poor fielder with poor fitness and he should be blamed for that, no doubt. But it is the captain's job to place his best fielders at long on and long off in LOIs.
 
Captain's first and foremost job is to refuse such players into the team.
 
Sisanda Magala.

magala-picked-up-the-crucial-w.jpg


Bowler, looks fat - but still doing well for South Africa? So there are exceptions.
 
Sisanda Magala.

magala-picked-up-the-crucial-w.jpg


Bowler, looks fat - but still doing well for South Africa? So there are exceptions.

Do we need a reminder that this is SA B team? I doubt whether he will make it to the regular side (except maybe for affirmative actions)
 
So the upcoming tour of West Indies will see the following in action.

1. Sharjeel Khan
2. Azam Khan
3. Rakheem Cornwall

All overweight.

This could be interesting.
 
So the upcoming tour of West Indies will see the following in action.

1. Sharjeel Khan
2. Azam Khan
3. Rakheem Cornwall

All overweight.

This could be interesting.

Of the three, I’ve seen photos of Azam working hard in the gym with visible improvement in fitness. It seems he’s dedicated to getting his body to a good healthy point. As long as he continues to show that dedication and continuous improvement I would be ok giving him a shot. Sharjeel clearly makes no dedicated effort and Cornwall, I have no idea about so can’t speak for him.
 
Fitness and Weight loss is very tricky and punishing. One month of hard work will get wasted with 1 day of cheating on your diet
 
Of the three, I’ve seen photos of Azam working hard in the gym with visible improvement in fitness. It seems he’s dedicated to getting his body to a good healthy point. As long as he continues to show that dedication and continuous improvement I would be ok giving him a shot. Sharjeel clearly makes no dedicated effort and Cornwall, I have no idea about so can’t speak for him.

Easy to flex for social media though. Nobody knows how he's doing when the camera isn't out. The bar was so low for him that a visible improvement in fitness is still miles off where a professional athlete ought to be.
 
I hope they just give Sharjeel three straight chances at the top of the order so he can finally fail and be done with.

The guy is a hack. He has zero skill, zero ability, zero fitness and he's still in the T20 squad every series.

I'm never going to get over the fact that this guy is a fixer, just like I will never get over the fact that Amir, Butt and Asif are fixers. If it was upto me all four would have served jail sentences and never played international cricket again in their life. But no, its not enough that they given a slap on the wrist. We actually have to see them represent Pakistan again.

The people running our cricket are just as oblivious, clueless and shameless as those cheering for Sharjeel to get selected. This man is a disgrace to our country. How can people in good conscience talk about cleaning up corruption on one hand, and cheer for this fixer on the other? Does corruption only extend to public sservice?

I really hope that he lives upto his potential and fails badly. Because at the end of the day, no matter how many roadblocks are cleared for him, he's just another hack who can't bat, can run and can't field.
 
Last edited:
Of the three, I’ve seen photos of Azam working hard in the gym with visible improvement in fitness. It seems he’s dedicated to getting his body to a good healthy point. As long as he continues to show that dedication and continuous improvement I would be ok giving him a shot. Sharjeel clearly makes no dedicated effort and Cornwall, I have no idea about so can’t speak for him.

210323-Cornwall_1785c2b025d_medium[1].jpg

8a0f0ee1-17a9-47d8-9206-e66a78cf7c6b.jpg7e4c6b1f-4a81-4d4d-9d05-81964793c83a.jpg
 
Easy to flex for social media though. Nobody knows how he's doing when the camera isn't out. The bar was so low for him that a visible improvement in fitness is still miles off where a professional athlete ought to be.

Like I said, as long as we continue to see this dedication to fitness from him, I think if the talent and performance is there it shouldn’t be held against him. The day that dedication stops, he’s out for me.
 
Pakistan defying the rule book in this sense.
 
Embarassing and appalling to see significantly unfit players representing Pakistan. Its not that these are world class talents like Inzi who needs accommodation regardless of their physical state. These guys are bare average cricketers. It becomes a real joke when your coach in mid 40s is fitter than you.
 
I would say it's food. All international cricketers should have strict diets, food restrictions.

Exercise is always a small part of the fitness game. It's food, food, and food.
 
THe only reason why Pakistan was because of the fitness of Babar and Rizwan.

THey kept good running betwen wickets taking singles and twos in that hot weather of Dubai. India didnt manage those runs
 
THe only reason why Pakistan was because of the fitness of Babar and Rizwan.

THey kept good running betwen wickets taking singles and twos in that hot weather of Dubai. India didnt manage those runs

Babar and Rizwan were playing with the fielders even they didn't hit the boundary they rotated the strike brilliantly
 
Speaking of: I find many Indian players struggling with fitness. To me Virat and Shastri have let fitness goals slip. Pakistan I find quite fit and athletic, barring a couple.
 
Should Cricket Boards specify Diet, Nutrition and Fitness Requirements in their Central Contracts?

This is in reference to the articles which are specifying that there is a drinking culture problem in the English team right now. I am just perplexed as to how can a professional athlete be allowed to booze non stop when they are being paid such handsome amounts for representing their country? There is no doubt excessive alcohol not only hinders performance, decision making but also leads to a decline in one's health, fitness.

Cricket Australia included Alcohol clauses in Andrew Symonds Central Contract and a final strike made it easier for CA to terminate Symonds career for good.

I believe if any Cricket board is paying its player $1,000,000 plus per annum along with sponsorships and the right to play T-20 leagues world wide including the IPL, then they have the right to dictate the players Diets, Fitness requirements with the role model being Virat Kohli and can even include clauses specifying no Alcohol on tour or a limited amount of Alcohol
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Imad Wasim "players with worse fitness than me being selected tells me that questions about my fitness are just talk. Everyone knows what’s happening & these issues such as fitness have been put out there to provide some sort of justification to keep me out the side" <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/SajSadiqCricket/status/1550509589367558144?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 22, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Imad Wasim "players with worse fitness than me being selected tells me that questions about my fitness are just talk. Everyone knows what’s happening & these issues such as fitness have been put out there to provide some sort of justification to keep me out the side" <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/SajSadiqCricket/status/1550509589367558144?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 22, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Which other players have had worser fitness levels than Imad.Only Azam Khan and Maqsood in the last year.
 
Which other players have had worser fitness levels than Imad.Only Azam Khan and Maqsood in the last year.

Add Yasir Shah and Nauman Ali to the list.

Watching them fielding today was painful at times.
 
Add Yasir Shah and Nauman Ali to the list.

Watching them fielding today was painful at times.

You can't expect athleticism from guys who are touching 40. The PCB needs to introduce proper bone scans and wrist tests to ensure players ages are accurately noted
 
In Pakistani society, fitness is the last thing they ever even think about let alone worry about it.

The food they make and eat is something which will never leave them.
 
Back
Top