LAHORE: Former all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez has recently discussed the fitness standards of the Pakistan cricket team and questioned Mickey Arthur for fitness crises of Pakistan cricket team. Hafeez expressed these concerns about the team’s physical condition under former management, including coaches Mickey Arthur and Grant Bradburn, and skipper Babar Azam during a podcast with Michael Vaughan and Adam Gilchrist. The former cricketer highlighted that inadequate focus on player fitness affected the overall team’s performance.
He also revealed a very shocking fact that the former management asked him to put the fitness equation out and let the players play how wanted to play till the World Cup.
Hafeez was of the view that fitness was not given priority and expressed deep concern over the neglect of fitness within the team, quoting discussions with Babar Azam and the coaching staff. He also noted a concerning trend about the players’ body fat levels, which are crucial indicators of fitness. Pakistan has faced a string of disappointments, including poor performances in the Asia Cup, ODI World Cup and T20 World Cup.
Pakistan also suffered a Test series whitewash against Australia, and also lost the T20I series to New Zealand by a significant margin.