"They are among the top 10 players in terms of fitness in World cricket" - Salman Butt names the three fittest players in Pakistan side

Former opener Salman Butt picked Shan Masood, Fakhar Zaman and Mohammad Rizwan as the fittest players in the Pakistan side. He also called them three of the ten fittest players in world cricket ahead of Pakistan's Test series against Bangladesh.

However, Butt voiced his concern about the overall fitness of the Pakistan players and felt their preparation wasn't at desirable levels.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Butt said:

"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 and run well on the field."

He added:

"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."

Pakistan will host Bangladesh for two Tests in Rawalpindi and Karachi, starting August 21.

"Babar Azam scored truckloads of runs in the last 2 years, he proved his fitness" - Salman Butt

Babar continues to be a model of consistency with the bat across formats [Credit: Getty]

Salman Butt cited the example of Pakistan's white-ball captain Babar Azam as evidence of how a few players in the side possess excellent fitness.

The right-handed batter is ranked in the top five among batters in all three formats, including a long-time No.1 ranking in ODIs. Here's what Butt said on Babar:

"Babar Azam scored truckloads of runs in the last 2 years, he proved his fitness, he ran on the field, and scored runs while batting first as well as second innings. Things should go up but they are getting broken in the middle, which is wrong. So, this is the responsibility of the players to maintain their fitness."

He concluded:

"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."

Pakistan are coming off a dismal 2024 T20 World Cup campaign, having been eliminated before the Super Eights with defeats to minnows USA and arch-rivals India.

They also exited the 2023 ODI World Cup before the semi-final stage, followed by a 0-3 hammering in the Test series in Australia.