PCB chairman organizes training camp for Pakistan team with army to improve players' fitness levels
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has arranged a ten-day training camp with the country's army for the men's national team. Newly appointed chairman Mohsin Naqvi made the announcement on Tuesday at a hotel in Islamabad and spoke on various other issues.
The next few months will be critical for the Men in Green. While players are currently involved with their respective franchises in the Pakistan Super League, they will return to national duty for the T20I series against New Zealand and England ahead of the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Naqvi believes every player's fitness must be top-notch and was hopeful that the army will make a significant contribution towards the same. As quoted by ESPN Cricinfo, he said:
"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. 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."
Earlier this year, Chief Selector Wahab Riaz appeared in an interview with Geo News and claimed that players couldn't even run two kilometers. Ex-coach Mohammad Hafeez had earlier claimed that a few players failed fitness tests ahead of the Australia tour.
"I'll just ask you to make Pakistan your first priority" - Mohsin Naqvi
Naqvi also called for the players to make themselves available for the national team ahead of their franchise teams and they shall have his full support. He added:
"I will support you 100%, 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."
The PCB recently cut Haris Rauf from their central contracts list after he made himself unavailable for the Test series Down Under.