/sky247-english/media/agency_attachments/u8Dd4hyaH0mQGXmyg0Eo.png)
/sky247-english/media/media_files/oXHoxgPA7CrylmMTcwp1.jpg)
Follow Us/sky247-english/media/media_files/c0RqiUiQk3tqtlbdPbkE.png)
Mohammad Hafeez (left) & Babar Azam (Source: X)
Pakistan cricket is never free from controversies and its latest episode began when former team director Mohammad Hafeez decided to spill the beans. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) recently parted ways with Hafeez, who has now come out with crucial claims that have destroyed the team's fitness culture.
/sky247-english/media/media_files/L36rCpmHRJkAgRgNCcLd.jpg)
The 43-year-old claimed that former Pakistan captain Babar Azam and former director of cricket Mickey Arthur had stopped fitness tests of players in 2023. According to him, fitness parameters are not important for Babar and Arthur and they let everyone play the way they want.
“When we went to Australia, I told the players to take care of their fitness levels. I also asked the trainer about the fitness of the players. He told me a shocking thing that six months ago captain (Babar Azam) and Director of Cricket (Mickey Arthur) told me to stop checking the players on the fitness parameters and let them play the way they want," Hafeez said on A Sports.
Notably, all these happened in the lead-up to the 2023 Asia Cup and ODI World Cup. Following Pakistan's disappointing campaign in the premier 50-over tournament, the management made a series of changes to the team, two of which saw Arthur and Babar no longer in their respective roles. Former Pakistan captain Hafeez replaced Arthur in November.
You will suffer defeats if the fitness is like that: Hafeez
Pakistan, under the leadership of Babar, failed to qualify for the semi-final of the World Cup. They even lost to Afghanistan and arch-rivals India. Hafeez said that some players were not even fit to complete a two-kilometer trial run and this had a serious impact on the team's performance.
"When the fat levels of the players were checked, the skin fold of all of them was high - for most players it was 1.5 times the limit. They were unfit and some of them couldn’t complete a 2 KM trial run. The decision taken 6 months back overruled the set criteria for fitness. You will suffer defeats if the fitness is like that,” Hafeez added.