Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi announced that the Pakistani cricket team, known as the Men in Green, will undergo training with the country’s army from March 25 to April 8. This ten-day camp comes shortly after the conclusion of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) on March 18. Naqvi expressed optimism that this training will significantly enhance the players’ fitness levels.
Pakistan Cricket Team will train with ‘Pak Army’ after PSL in Abbottabad. Chairman PCB says that they need to improve their fitness to hit big sixes.
What’s ur thoughts on this decision?#PakistanCricket #PakArmy pic.twitter.com/t75dQfZBSl
— Iqbal 🇵🇰 (@its_Iqbal01) March 6, 2024
“When I was watching the matches in Lahore, I don’t think a single one of you hit a six that went into the stands. Whenever a six like that was hit, I used to think a foreign player must have hit that. I have asked the board to make a plan that gets every player’s fitness up to speed. You’ll have to make a proper effort for that,” Naqvi said as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.
“We have New Zealand coming up, then Ireland, England and the T20 World Cup. I wondered, ‘When will we train?’ but there was no time. However, we’ve found a window, where we’ve organised a camp in Kakul (military academy) from March 25 to April 8. The Pakistan Army will be involved in your training, and hopefully, they’ll help you out.” he added.
This collaboration between the cricket team and the military is not unprecedented. During Misbah-ul-Haq’s tenure as captain, a similar training camp was organized at Kakul Academy to prepare for a Test series against England.
Misbah’s remarkable performance in the subsequent Test match, marked by a century, was celebrated with ten pushups followed by a military salute.
Naqvi’s Plea to the Team
“I’m not going to say you mustn’t earn money, or ask you to make sacrifices we are also not ready to make. But let me give you one example. One year ago, I was asked to become the chief minister of Punjab, and it caused me a financial loss in my business. I had to leave that aside and incur several extra costs. But I had a desire to represent Pakistan, and so I had to make that sacrifice,” Naqvi said.
“I will support you 100 per cent, but I’ll just ask you to make Pakistan your first priority, and T20 leagues your second priority. It’s unfortunate when money becomes first priority and the country second. If you do that, then we might have a problem. We can even look at central contracts and bolster them further if you desire, but you must be available for Pakistan first and foremost,” Naqvi added.
Naqvi stressed the importance of players prioritizing national obligations over engagements in T20 leagues worldwide.
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