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[VIDEOS/PICTURES] What happened to our fitness culture?

Even if true, I don't get why he wants to announce this to the world. Creates such a bad impression of the team. He needs to realise he is not a pundit any longer. As CS he needs to think before he speaks.
 
Asad T said:
Even if true, I don't get why he wants to announce this to the world. Creates such a bad impression of the team. He needs to realise he is not a pundit any longer. As CS he needs to think before he speaks.
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I agree. A bit weird that he is saying all these things on TV about current players being the CS. Surely their should be some sort of code of conduct policy for the CS as well to follow.
 
Sher Khan said:
An interesting comment from Wahab Riaz but one that is not hard to believe. A few of the Pakistani players were unable to complete a 2KM run at the training camp recently.

Babar is one that comes to mind who has poor fitness levels and has developed a tummy. Their are a few other obvious ones such as Azam Khan, etc.

Do you believe the Pakistani players are short on fitness standards?
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Weren't you asking for Haris Sohail's selection the other day ?

Despite his talent, he's the epitome of the lazy, unfit Pakistani cricketer.

I can't blame him or any of these guys though. Generally they come from humble backgrounds with little education. Their understanding of proper nutrition and optimal workout routines is limited.

That's why the captain must set the tone like Kohli did for India. Despite Shan's mediocre batting, I can't deny he's one of the fittest members of the team and that probably is no small part down to his educated background. Hopefully the others can follow his example there.
 
FearlessRoar said:
WahabRiaz was speaking on a local Pakistani news channel and stated:

"We must have fitness tests. I told you that when we came, unfortunately, we had to announce the team. We are getting some news that maybe the fitness of the players…, the interesting thing is that what you talked about, I would like to tell you that from the previous management, we have heard that do not ask the players about their fitness. The logic behind this was that they pampered the players a lot. Let me tell you that some players couldn’t even run 2 km."
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its obvious paks fitness standards are poor, misbah is the last person who tried to enforce fitness standards on his teams, after which its been downhill.

shoaib akhter got a lot of flack for his fitness problems throughout his career but he bowled 100% nearly every game, now you have players patently sandbagging, missing games, and not being called out for it.

wahab had a lot of issues but fitness was not one of em, dude always looked athletic even towards the end of his career, so whilst it may not be appropriate to air dirty laundry in public, hes one of the few people who can actually call the guys out on it.
 
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Our fitness culture has been badly disrupted. You can observe our elite player Babar Azam gaining weight. Also, the selection of Azam Khan as wicketkeeper for the New Zealand series. I mean, if Azam Khan were part of Australia, would he have even played for Australian domestic cricket?
 
ElRaja said:
its obvious paks fitness standards are poor, misbah is the last person who tried to enforce fitness standards on his teams, after which its been downhill.

shoaib akhter got a lot of flack for his fitness problems throughout his career but he bowled 100% nearly every game, now you have players patently sandbagging, missing games, and not being called out for it.

wahab had a lot of issues but fitness was not one of em, dude always looked athletic even towards the end of his career, so whilst it may not be appropriate to air dirty laundry in public, hes one of the few people who can actually call the guys out on it.
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True. Wahab never slowed down and held his pace throughout his career. He has bowled 8-10 over spells with consistent pace. In fact he may have gotten quicker with age. In 2008 he was bowling at 135 by 2019 it was 145.
 
Rana said:
It’s funny how the old management compromised on fielding but the excuse to keep Sharjeel out of the side was his fitness
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Yep… even though Imam is in the shape as him nowadays but gets a free run instead.
 
Pakistan has NEVER had a fitness culture people seem to be deluded by thinking that it ever even existed.

There's no culture even about having dietary requirements for players as the players themselves don't care about such things themselves.

Even if you look in general in Pakistan there's no concept of healthy eating or having a good diet as fast food places seem to be booming and shisha places seem to be on every corner of the street all over the country and are packed to the brim as shisha seems to be a very cool way to get noticed or hooked up.

There's a lack of healthy eating habits and there's barely much places in the country where you can go and have a health check or food which is good enough.
 
jnaveen1980 said:
Sohaib Malik looks fitter than most of the pak basmen. Bowlers are okay. But batsmen are all fat.
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He could definitely be a candidate for our coaching setup in the fitness/conditioning department, even fielding too since he was one of the best fielders we've produced.
 
Nothing has changed, it's still the same as before because nobody focuses on implementing it at the lower levels where cricketers can get used to it. Instead it happens the opposite way when a player reaches the international level we start emphasizing the need to maintain their fitness.
 
Deewana Mastana said:
Pakistan has NEVER had a fitness culture people seem to be deluded by thinking that it ever even existed.

There's no culture even about having dietary requirements for players as the players themselves don't care about such things themselves.

Even if you look in general in Pakistan there's no concept of healthy eating or having a good diet as fast food places seem to be booming and shisha places seem to be on every corner of the street all over the country and are packed to the brim as shisha seems to be a very cool way to get noticed or hooked up.

There's a lack of healthy eating habits and there's barely much places in the country where you can go and have a health check or food which is good enough.
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Wrong. Pakistan cricketers from 60s-90s were far more fit than the post 2003 teams. It’s incredibly obvious.

It’s not a coincidence that Younis Khan, Misbah, Malik and Afridi were destroying fitness tests while guys 10-20 years younger were failing by 2012-2015 by which time they had all reached their 40s. Imran was strict on fitness during his captaincy stint too.

No one is saying to weigh out each morsel of food before consumption and take 100 different supplements. But there is a standard of fitness that existed for sportsmen in Pakistan cricket 20-25 years ago that doesn’t exist anymore.

Let’s not rewrite history to make it easier to cope with how far we’ve fallen.
 
After being replaced as captain, Babar Azam asked for an increase in his Daily Biryani Allowance (DBA) and it was approved by two
 
Suleiman said:
Wrong. Pakistan cricketers from 60s-90s were far more fit than the post 2003 teams. It’s incredibly obvious.

It’s not a coincidence that Younis Khan, Misbah, Malik and Afridi were destroying fitness tests while guys 10-20 years younger were failing by 2012-2015 by which time they had all reached their 40s. Imran was strict on fitness during his captaincy stint too.

No one is saying to weigh out each morsel of food before consumption and take 100 different supplements. But there is a standard of fitness that existed for sportsmen in Pakistan cricket 20-25 years ago that doesn’t exist anymore.

Let’s not rewrite history to make it easier to cope with how far we’ve fallen.
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There's a massive difference between the players of the 60's, 70's and so forth. Most came from educated backgrounds and were influenced by western culture so they knew the best way to use it. There weren't all that were focused about fitness but there where a few individuals that took it seriously and wanted to bring that culture in.

Since the last decade or two, the attitude towards fitness and the culture that has been seen is of that they can do whatever they want without any repercussions or anything.

We can only hope that things change for the better but like I said in my earlier post that in general in Pakistan fitness isn't taken up as seriously or there's many places which provide those types of food that some who may want to eat health and nutrition based food.
 
Maybe we should introduce a policy where you can not play PSL without a fitness requirement. I think that would cause many cricketers to quickly get into shape otherwise lose a lot of money.

When it comes to international it’s tough to enforce. As when you have that much domestic performance it’s difficult to ignore for international selection and some players see international cricket as just a bonus.
 
It’s amazing how for Shoaib Malik is even though he smokes regularly
 
Fitness culture seems to be non-existent when it comes to Players in Pakistan. Fitness in terms of cricket, for me, means you should be able to play all the formats without many problems. Standing out in the middle in red ball format for 90 overs a day is not everyone's cup of tea. A player should be fit enough to do that, which many in Pakistan cannot.
 
ads101 said:
Maybe we should introduce a policy where you can not play PSL without a fitness requirement. I think that would cause many cricketers to quickly get into shape otherwise lose a lot of money.

When it comes to international it’s tough to enforce. As when you have that much domestic performance it’s difficult to ignore for international selection and some players see international cricket as just a bonus.
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Dont these PSL teams enforce fitness rules?
 
karthikc said:
Dont these PSL teams enforce fitness rules?
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If Azam can play it can’t be a high fitness requirement.

He is an example who might actually lose weight if he can’t play PSL otherwise. He’s not going to lose it for international cricket.
 
I wouldn't care if our players don't "look" the part - i.e. low BMI/fat%. What I care about is cricketing fitness - that you can take doubles every few deliveries without getting tired, that you don't get yourself injured doing what's normally required from your position as a bat/bwl/wk. We fail even at these basics. I don't remember Moin Khan or Rashid Latif cramping up during keeping, or Wasim/Waqar/Aaqib/Saqi, etc. not bowling their full quota of over due to fitness. Our batsmen were often unfit, so yeah, we have hoped that they would improve.

More than a batting or bowling coach, the coach we need the most is a fielding coach. Someone who has a staff that comes up with some kind of a metric for runs saved - runs allowed, expected catches taken - expected catches drop, etc. We need to define fielding standards that must be heavily considered during selection of a squad. If I'm selecting between two players who can win the ocassional 1 game out of 10, but player A averages 30 and fields well and player B averages 40 and fields poorly, I'll select Player A. What matters is if you can win games with either bat/ball and then field well to give your team a chance when defending.
 
I don’t think in recent decades or ever we’ve had a serious fitness culture.

Only time I remember for a short period was during Waqar Younis’ coaching / Misbah’s captaincy era where selection heavily relied on fitness / bleep tests. This actually was a good concept but many players decided to go against Waqar for this.

I think now we have the new generation of cricketers coming through for Pakistan and I am genuinely surprised how poor the fitness is, especially in a era where gym, workout plans, diet plans, fitness trainers, life coach, nutritionists etc are heavily available and promoted through social means. The fitness world is very popular yet this doesn’t seem to be the case within our team.

I think Ahmed Shehzad is the only one who is a gym fanatic and has dedicated himself to gym programmes through personal trainers where his body % reduced below 15% (abs etc). Anyone else?

The issue is the mentality and culture as to why we have no fitness culture.
 
These cake celebrations and the "roti gang" are basically spoiling the standards of our team.
 
shamaan said:
Rohit and pant are also fat.
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I think it's more so about your performance in the game.

Rohit is overweight but not obese like azam. He can easily field and bat well. Although rohit is the worst fielder in the Indian team lol.
 
Suleiman said:
Couple of my family members were watching this Pakistani celebrity indoor cricket match on ARY. It’s like a cricket league with a bunch of teams all consisting of well known actors and actresses.

And if you put them alongside our cricketers, esp the ones not in great shape, and asked a non Asian which one of these is a sportsman and which one is an average person, they would pick the actor 10/10 times.

Afridi today still looked match fit and ready to go at 45, same with Younis, Misbah and Moin Khan and Wasim Akram at 50+ (Wasim is almost 60).

Yet Moin’s son is playing in such a sorry state? And people want him to be selected?

I understand from 60s-90s, cricket had prestige in Pakistan and attracted people who cared about reputation. Now we see a bunch of paindus, smoking, eating halwa puri and tikka and kebab while Kohli across the border hasn’t seen a ball of gulab jamun since age 18 (actually I think he said he quit rice altogether).

It’s “small” things like these that get under my skin and make me realize that I don’t think we’ll be a top 3 team for a prolonged period ever again. Not fitness by itself, but the lack of professionalism in things like fitness, attitude, willingness to improve, it’s a sad state of affairs.

What are the MBAs we’ve hired from UK doing in PCB? What’s Imran khan doing since he said we’ll shoot to the top again once he became PM? I know these things take time, but what’s being done?
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It’s the American fast food chains and booorger kids culture imo

Plus with these nice lads, there go to thing to have fun is eat out.

While the others wanted to party and be in tip top condition so they could have fun on space mountain to.

They were charismatic, part of that charisma was looking after themselves.
 
Babar Azam has never been consistently conscious about his fitness. Now that he has returned as captain, it seems like the end of the fitness culture once again. And as you can see, more fun is being had at the Kakul training camp than actual training.
 
FearlessRoar said:
Babar Azam has never been consistently conscious about his fitness. Now that he has returned as captain, it seems like the end of the fitness culture once again. And as you can see, more fun is being had at the Kakul training camp than actual training.
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Because he knows nobody can remove him even with his pathetic fitness level... see his tummy is sticking out at just the age of 29.
 
There has never been a fitness ‘culture’ to begin with. Remember, the you need to have discipline and eat the right food in the kitchen - Pakistan as a country already fail on those two aspects.

You then have to look at how things have progressed around us - there is a whole fitness industry / culture out there. Yet Pakistan cricket are attending these meaningless army boot camps just so army can tick their own box.

If I was a PT - I would never allow my fast bowlers to be attending military esque bootcamps especially when it’s not a consistent thing and if they have come from rehab (Shaheen). I would place them on programme that focus on flexibility, compound movements and high fibre/high protein diet.

You know what the sad thing is? A lot of Pakistani players failed to ever reach their true potential due to not taking their fitness seriously. Shoaib Akhtar for example would do bodyweight isolated workouts - that really ruined him in many ways but it’s not his fault as he had no qualified coaches in the fitness world to advise him.
 
Theo_14 said:
There has never been a fitness ‘culture’ to begin with. Remember, the you need to have discipline and eat the right food in the kitchen - Pakistan as a country already fail on those two aspects.

You then have to look at how things have progressed around us - there is a whole fitness industry / culture out there. Yet Pakistan cricket are attending these meaningless army boot camps just so army can tick their own box.

If I was a PT - I would never allow my fast bowlers to be attending military esque bootcamps especially when it’s not a consistent thing and if they have come from rehab (Shaheen). I would place them on programme that focus on flexibility, compound movements and high fibre/high protein diet.

You know what the sad thing is? A lot of Pakistani players failed to ever reach their true potential due to not taking their fitness seriously. Shoaib Akhtar for example would do bodyweight isolated workouts - that really ruined him in many ways but it’s not his fault as he had no qualified coaches in the fitness world to advise him.
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The Misbah era as captain had what was probably the closest thing to a fitness culture.

I will say though for Shoaib, despite all the body building he could run miles and miles and still maintain his pace. None of our pacers could get through a full test series today.
 
offstump said:
The Misbah era as captain had what was probably the closest thing to a fitness culture.

I will say though for Shoaib, despite all the body building he could run miles and miles and still maintain his pace. None of our pacers could get through a full test series today.
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Which Akthar are we talking about?

I remember how he was huffing and puffing to bowl during the 2003-04 series that Sehwag dominated.

He was struggling to bowl 15 overs in a day after he hit 30 and retired from test cricket at 32. For all purposes, post WC 03 he was a pale shadow of his former self , ie, at 28 he was basically done and dusted.
 
Sir Alex said:
Which Akthar are we talking about?

I remember how he was huffing and puffing to bowl during the 2003-04 series that Sehwag dominated.

He was struggling to bowl 15 overs in a day after he hit 30 and retired from test cricket at 32. For all purposes, post WC 03 he was a pale shadow of his former self , ie, at 28 he was basically done and dusted.
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That was mainly because of his knee issues. Otherwise he was fit.
 
When exactly did we have a fitness culture, our wicket keepers from Moin Khan to Akmal Bros to Sarfraz barring Zulqurnain all had visible bellies, our fast bowlers barring a couple of them were never in best shape be it Rana Naved, Sohail Tanvir, Tanvir Ahmed , Rahat Ali , Imran Khan Jr.

Our middle order had fitness as the least of concern, Inzi Moyo Azhar Ali none of them had a look of a professional cricketer.

Our openers Abid Ali, Imam Ul Haq, Khalid Latif, Shahzaib Hassan, Sharjeel Khan and Riffatullah Mehmond had the physique of bread sellers than a cricketer.
 
Fitness culture is not a priority where fans still tummy tuck type players ala Sharjeel Khan
 
In a candid discussion on his YouTube channel, Salman Butt pointed out that the overall fitness of the team is not progressing as it should:

"Improvements will be seen in fitness soon. You cannot say all the players are not fit. If you look at some of the players they are among the top 10 players in terms of fitness in World cricket. You can look at Shan Masood, Fakhar Zaman, and Mohammad Rizwan, you look at their fitness, they have achieved good scores in the Yo-Yo Tests. They are good in the gym, they run well on the field."

"You need to manage fast bowlers, the problem is they don't play longer format, they don't feature in FC cricket, we don't play much Test cricket. Things are not getting developed in the way they should be. When this happens, the entire team is blamed unfit, people won't look at fit guys even though all the players are hardworking."

"The entire Pakistan is talking about the fitness of the team and it brought a storm in Pakistan, players at the junior level were asked to run. This came after people said players weren't fit in the T20 World Cup 2024. No one questioned the physios or trainers, but instead, they started making players at the district level push hard for fitness. Those who made errors are still there."
 
Thinking back the Azam Khan debacle was a watershed moment for Pakistani cricket and neccessary. I'm glad it happened.

From now the fitness standards will only go up. It's going to be interesting to see where we are in 5 years time.
 
this actually happened to our fitness culture :D

91sAE5Z.jpeg
 
As per reports:

National cricketers included in the Test squad and those under consideration for the central contract will face a series of rigorous fitness tests, set to commence on September 7 in Lahore.

Fitness tests for Test squad members and some centrally contracted cricketers are scheduled for September 7 and 9 in Lahore. These tests are tied to the central contract, prompting national cricketers to feel anxious as they ramp up their preparations to meet the stringent fitness requirements.

PCB has set a passing criterion of 60%, higher than the international benchmark of 50%, adding to the pressure on the cricketers. The fitness assessment will include a variety of exercises such as bench press, skinfold measurements, bench pull, squat, and jump tests.

Players will be required to complete a 2-kilometer trial run within 8 minutes and six sets of three sprints with a 30-second break between each set. The sprints must be completed within 10 seconds per set, a requirement that has particularly heightened the players' anxiety.

The PCB plans to announce the central contracts after the results of the fitness tests are finalized. It is expected that the number of central contract players will be reduced to 25, a decrease from last year's 30. This has further intensified the competition, as several current players may be dropped, and new talent could be introduced.
 
FearlessRoar said:
As per reports:

National cricketers included in the Test squad and those under consideration for the central contract will face a series of rigorous fitness tests, set to commence on September 7 in Lahore.

Fitness tests for Test squad members and some centrally contracted cricketers are scheduled for September 7 and 9 in Lahore. These tests are tied to the central contract, prompting national cricketers to feel anxious as they ramp up their preparations to meet the stringent fitness requirements.

PCB has set a passing criterion of 60%, higher than the international benchmark of 50%, adding to the pressure on the cricketers. The fitness assessment will include a variety of exercises such as bench press, skinfold measurements, bench pull, squat, and jump tests.

Players will be required to complete a 2-kilometer trial run within 8 minutes and six sets of three sprints with a 30-second break between each set. The sprints must be completed within 10 seconds per set, a requirement that has particularly heightened the players' anxiety.

The PCB plans to announce the central contracts after the results of the fitness tests are finalized. It is expected that the number of central contract players will be reduced to 25, a decrease from last year's 30. This has further intensified the competition, as several current players may be dropped, and new talent could be introduced.
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And after all this I fully expect Azam Khan to be picked.
 
Suleiman said:
Couple of my family members were watching this Pakistani celebrity indoor cricket match on ARY. It’s like a cricket league with a bunch of teams all consisting of well known actors and actresses.

And if you put them alongside our cricketers, esp the ones not in great shape, and asked a non Asian which one of these is a sportsman and which one is an average person, they would pick the actor 10/10 times.

Afridi today still looked match fit and ready to go at 45, same with Younis, Misbah and Moin Khan and Wasim Akram at 50+ (Wasim is almost 60).

Yet Moin’s son is playing in such a sorry state? And people want him to be selected?

I understand from 60s-90s, cricket had prestige in Pakistan and attracted people who cared about reputation. Now we see a bunch of paindus, smoking, eating halwa puri and tikka and kebab while Kohli across the border hasn’t seen a ball of gulab jamun since age 18 (actually I think he said he quit rice altogether).

It’s “small” things like these that get under my skin and make me realize that I don’t think we’ll be a top 3 team for a prolonged period ever again. Not fitness by itself, but the lack of professionalism in things like fitness, attitude, willingness to improve, it’s a sad state of affairs.

What are the MBAs we’ve hired from UK doing in PCB? What’s Imran khan doing since he said we’ll shoot to the top again once he became PM? I know these things take time, but what’s being done?
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Great post. Basically we Punjabis have become lazy and weak in the past 15 years.

Internet and too much fast food have ruined us. I'm not sure Pakistan cricket can recover from it's present state unless someone iconic emerges as a captain in the next 5 years.
 
I think the captain has to set an example. If he doesn’t then decline can happen. Both Sarfraz and to an extent Babar haven’t prioritised their own fitnesses when captain and set a bad example. I’m extremely disappointed when the captain loses fitness, you are the role model for your team. I also think selectors by introducing guys like Azam into the squad minimize the importance of fitness to the rest of the squad too.

People bring up Inzi, but I think he was an exception. He wasn’t fat when young, and felt he was quicker between the wickets and more agile than his appearance suggested, as well as being a good fielder. But given he cemented his legacy before he was fat too, people didn’t take that as an excuse. More if you are as accomplished as inzi we can forgive that you’re fat. So the rest still cared about their fitness as they didn’t put themselves in the same stratosphere as Inzi. Even though it was fine for Inzi it wasn’t fine for you.

Even Masood as a role model is problematic in terms of performance. If that’s the level of your captain, everyone has to outperform him. That doesn’t inspire a team. That’s why you have to lead from the front.

Also sadly you don’t need to be super fit to do well in leagues or t20. They weren’t around then/less prevalent. Thus there’s going to be guys who try to do the bare minimum regards to fitness in order to make the side. They know they can still perform and get picked in leagues whether they are fat or not.
 
Who is the fitness and health conditioning coach? Fitness of Pakistani team has gone down definitely.
 
Fitness only applies during international duties, not when when players have no matches and are at home
 
Fitness was prioritized only during Misbah’s tenure.

I don’t remember any time since the 2000s i.e last 2 decades where fitness was seriously taken, except the Misbah ul Haq era.
 
sweep_shot said:
Who is the fitness and health conditioning coach? Fitness of Pakistani team has gone down definitely.
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Cliffe Deacon. The guy needs to be fired. He is too chummy with the players and according to reporters, he gives all clear passes to players on their fitness, match readiness and hides, downplays their injuries, niggles.

Gillespie apparently is not happy with him and wants him replaced.
 
FearlessRoar said:
As per reports:

National cricketers included in the Test squad and those under consideration for the central contract will face a series of rigorous fitness tests, set to commence on September 7 in Lahore.

Fitness tests for Test squad members and some centrally contracted cricketers are scheduled for September 7 and 9 in Lahore. These tests are tied to the central contract, prompting national cricketers to feel anxious as they ramp up their preparations to meet the stringent fitness requirements.

PCB has set a passing criterion of 60%, higher than the international benchmark of 50%, adding to the pressure on the cricketers. The fitness assessment will include a variety of exercises such as bench press, skinfold measurements, bench pull, squat, and jump tests.

Players will be required to complete a 2-kilometer trial run within 8 minutes and six sets of three sprints with a 30-second break between each set. The sprints must be completed within 10 seconds per set, a requirement that has particularly heightened the players' anxiety.

The PCB plans to announce the central contracts after the results of the fitness tests are finalized. It is expected that the number of central contract players will be reduced to 25, a decrease from last year's 30. This has further intensified the competition, as several current players may be dropped, and new talent could be introduced.
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2km in 8 mins is like college level...
 
So India has requirement of 2 km in 8 mins 15 seconds for its pacers and 8 minutes 30 seconds for all others. This is in addition to the YoYo.

I think Pakistan Admins are throwing the baby out with the bathwater. They need to impose tough tests at the junior levels and give time to senior level players to come around.
 
Fitness needs to start from grass root level and a non compromising attitude from the board.

A player like Sarfraz had to bide his time in India due to fitness, whilst PCT accommodated a morbid obese Azam throwing all fitness criteria out of the window.

How can PCB demand fitness from its players with a straight face when they let Azam don national colours?
 
As per reports:

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is offering national cricketers another opportunity to demonstrate their fitness levels. Around 8-10 players will undergo fitness tests on September 30. This second chance allows players who previously failed or were borderline cases to meet the required standards.

Improving performance in the 2-kilometer run is a key focus area for the players. Additionally, the PCB is taking steps to address ongoing injury challenges affecting player performance. The board has decided to appoint a consultant in Sports Medicine to ensure timely diagnosis and management of fitness issues.
 

'No Compromise': PCB Takes Stand as Central Contract Stars at Risk of Being Ousted for not Meeting Fitness Standards​


The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) have handed out a strict warning to several players who are centrally contracted to improve their fitness levels.

On Monday, Pakistan’s fitness trainer and physiotherapist is set to hold another round of physical tests at Lahore. Earlier this month, several players did not meet the benchmarks held in the previous test.

“The players who have central and domestic contracts have been told in clear terms that there will be no compromise on fitness and they have to meet the benchmarks set by the team’s fitness experts,” a board official said, as quoted by PTI.

Pakistan’s Head Coaches, Jason Gillespie and Gary Kirsten had told the PCB Chairman that fitness is one area which is a non-negotiable for a professional player.

The official said, “The two foreign head coaches, Jason Gillispie and Gary Kirsten had told the PCB Chairman that no player should be given any benefit as far as fitness levels are concerned.”

According to the official, those who failed to meet the fitness standards earlier had been given two months to help improve their levels and the Test on Monday would be a part of that process.

While Pakistan Cricket has been on a downward spiral, one area that has been a hot topic of concern is that of the fitness levels of several key players in comparison to their respective counterparts from other international sides.

Following Pakistan’s disastrous show in the 2023 ODI World Cup in India, the former Team Director, Muhammad Hafeez and the former skipper, Misbah ul Haq had all revealed that the former Coach, Mickey Arthur and the skipper Babar Azam had given instructions to the trainer to not put pressure on players with regards to fitness and allow them to focus on their performances on the field.

Pakistan Cricket has been hitting new lows which is likely prompting the PCB to make wholesale changes to the setup. The side are from the dominant force of old. They were unable to make it to the knockouts of the 2023 ODI World Cup, the 2024 T20 World Cup and most recently suffered a whitewash defeat against Bangladesh at their home ground for the first time in history.

www.news18.com

'No Compromise': PCB Takes Stand as Central Contract Stars at Risk of Being Ousted for not Meeting Fitness Standards - News18

Pakistan's Head Coaches, Jason Gillespie and Gary Kirsten had told the PCB Chairman that fitness is one area which is a non-negotiable for a professional player.
www.news18.com www.news18.com
 
Shan Masood in a recent presser shared thoughts about fast bowlers' injuries:

"In Test cricket, fast bowling is very tough, so the workload of fast bowlers is always managed. Unfortunately, Khurram Shahzad has had injuries twice that we couldn’t control, but we’ve personally talked to the fast bowlers. What we’ve conveyed is that taking 20 wickets is a very important part of your role, and they need to be super fit as it’s a team requirement. So we’ve set some fitness standards. Fast bowlers should be the fittest in our team. It’s a priority case, and we are in constant communication with the fast bowlers while setting these standards."
 
As per reports:

The fitness tests were conducted at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Lahore, where players were required to complete a two-kilometer run within eight minutes—a standard benchmark set by the PCB to assess the fitness levels of its athletes. According to sources, the players who failed were unable to meet the required 80% pass mark during the tests. The identities of the players who failed have not been disclosed yet.

This setback comes at a crucial time for the Pakistan cricket team, which is preparing for a series of high-profile international matches, including the upcoming Test series against England. The failure of eight players to meet fitness standards is likely to disrupt selection plans and may force the PCB to re-evaluate its approach to player conditioning.

Adding to the complications, the PCB has been delaying the announcement of central contracts due to these fitness concerns. The Board had been expected to finalize the contracts earlier this month, but the results of the fitness tests have now put that process on hold.

As of now, the PCB has not released an official statement regarding the failed fitness tests, but it is expected that the Board will address the issue in the coming days.
 
BouncerGuy said:
Look at that tummy of Naseem Shah. What are you doing brother? What these guys are eating?

ZERO FITNESS

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Cliffe Deacon is in cahoots with the players. He falsifies their fitness reports and downplays their injuries, fitness to keep his job. The overall fitness levels of our players have declined rapidly since he took over in the last 2-3 years.
 
It continues to hurt us. There should be no compromise on fitness. All bowlers need to be even fitter than batsmen. Batsmen you can get away with not being supremely fit.

I’d create two separate fitness tests requir,ents for bowlers and batsman. Bowlers have to score even higher. And maybe even raise the existing one for batsman if it’s not high enough.

Don’t care about skill, talent etc, anymore. What is the point when these players can’t even make use of it if they’re not fit. Fitness should be the number 1 priority right now for this cricket team. Then we can again turn towards skill and talent. In a world where the rest of the teams are getting fitter and fitter, somehow we are getting worse.
 
Salman Butt, in a recent video on his official YouTube channel, spoke about fitness levels of Pakistan’s players:

“Yes, he [Aqib Javed] talked about Fakhar Zaman. We all know about his knee injury, but I think with age, Fakhar needs to work on his strength,” said Butt. “I’m telling you, every single one of our players needs to do strength training to stay fit as they grow older.”

“Whether it’s Fakhar or any other player, the way things are going now, they need strength training. It’s as simple as that. Just running isn’t going to achieve anything.”

“I look at these players and I’m amazed—there’s [athletic] tape on their knees, tape on their legs. They look less like athletes and more like mummies from the movies, wrapped in so many tapes.”

“Instead of wrapping your bones with tape, wrap them with muscle. Don’t fear gaining muscle weight—muscle is heavier than fat, but it protects your bones, and it enhances your agility, speed, power, and explosive strength.”

“If you want to enhance your career and compete at a higher level. Whether you’re 18 or 35, this is essential for every player.”
 
AzamKhan Imad Wasim Sarfraz sharjeel to name a few who dodged their way into team, a killer blow to fitness culture
 
There is no fitness culture in all asian countries not just pakistan.

India got super fit a few years ago but right now they have rohit pant sarfraz who are not as fit as their australian or English counterparts.

And it has been like this for ages
One anomaly being kohli who looks at his fitness from a whole diff perspective.

Its a culture thing. And pak srl india all need to improve on this front
 
Hyder said:
There is no fitness culture in all asian countries not just pakistan.

India got super fit a few years ago but right now they have rohit pant sarfraz who are not as fit as their australian or English counterparts.

And it has been like this for ages
One anomaly being kohli who looks at his fitness from a whole diff perspective.

Its a culture thing. And pak srl india all need to improve on this front
Click to expand...
What I don't understand is how this isn't one of the top priorities in your life if you're a professional athlete? Not everyone is a Rohit or a Pant, where they can coast by despite having a questionable level of fitness. And as we have heard Kohli say, improving your fitness improves every aspect of your game from running between the wickets to fielding. For me, lack of fitness showcases a lack of seriousness towards the game that is unbecoming of a professional athlete.
 
RedwoodOriginal said:
What I don't understand is how this isn't one of the top priorities in your life if you're a professional athlete? Not everyone is a Rohit or a Pant, where they can coast by despite having a questionable level of fitness. And as we have heard Kohli say, improving your fitness improves every aspect of your game from running between the wickets to fielding. For me, lack of fitness showcases a lack of seriousness towards the game that is unbecoming of a professional athlete.
Click to expand...
Just for instance look at this Australian tour, how many times they ran another run while the ball was in the hand of fielder but they couldnt even throw it.
You ll play some great innings or bowl or field well based on your talent but u do need a specific fitness which will help you do justice to ur talent.

As professional cricketers i have never seen pakistani batsman being able to hit six with ease except for asif in recent times or maybe fakhar and saim. They are professional cricketers and you'd think the amount of time they spend in nets they ll learn and adapt but i am damn sure they just do that fwd defense or drives as practice.
We lack innovation, education and hunger to improve be it fitness or any other aspect of the game
 
Plain and simple our players also do gym running etc and with the same energy they satisfy their taste buds with Karahi, Nihari Biryani and Pijza henceforth the big bellies.

And I forgot Lassi and Pepsi
 
Hyder said:
Just for instance look at this Australian tour, how many times they ran another run while the ball was in the hand of fielder but they couldnt even throw it.
You ll play some great innings or bowl or field well based on your talent but u do need a specific fitness which will help you do justice to ur talent.

As professional cricketers i have never seen pakistani batsman being able to hit six with ease except for asif in recent times or maybe fakhar and saim. They are professional cricketers and you'd think the amount of time they spend in nets they ll learn and adapt but i am damn sure they just do that fwd defense or drives as practice.
We lack innovation, education and hunger to improve be it fitness or any other aspect of the game
Click to expand...
What angers me most, even more than all this is their lack of professionalism. If they just learned how to do the basics right (fielding, running between the wickets, fitness) and be professional they would not lose as often as they do. Sometimes not making idiotic mistakes and doing the simple things right is all you have to do. But they don't understand this. In alot of ways, the system is to blame. Because in other countries these basics are prioritized at a very young age. But players bear alot of responsibility for their inability to pick up these things as they grow older too. They have worked under alot of coaches and high-level professionals but no one has been able to make much of a difference on their fielding or their fitness.
 
FearlessRoar said:
Salman Butt, in a recent video on his official YouTube channel, spoke about fitness levels of Pakistan’s players:

“Yes, he [Aqib Javed] talked about Fakhar Zaman. We all know about his knee injury, but I think with age, Fakhar needs to work on his strength,” said Butt. “I’m telling you, every single one of our players needs to do strength training to stay fit as they grow older.”

“Whether it’s Fakhar or any other player, the way things are going now, they need strength training. It’s as simple as that. Just running isn’t going to achieve anything.”

“I look at these players and I’m amazed—there’s [athletic] tape on their knees, tape on their legs. They look less like athletes and more like mummies from the movies, wrapped in so many tapes.”

“Instead of wrapping your bones with tape, wrap them with muscle. Don’t fear gaining muscle weight—muscle is heavier than fat, but it protects your bones, and it enhances your agility, speed, power, and explosive strength.”

“If you want to enhance your career and compete at a higher level. Whether you’re 18 or 35, this is essential for every player.”
Click to expand...

I'll always detest Salman for fixing but his comments are hilarious and spot on: "Look at these players and I’m amazed—there’s [athletic] tape on their knees, tape on their legs. They look less like athletes and more like mummies from the movies, wrapped in so many tapes.” :ROFLMAO:
 
Do you honestly expect fitness culture from a team that cuts cakes after each individual honour achieved by a player?
 
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