The Pakistan Military Academy training camp was organized for the Pakistan cricket team in Abbottabad where the players participated in their fitness level test and special attention was given to them. However, shortly after the camp, wicket-keeper batter Azam Khan was the first to be ruled out of the recently concluded New Zealand series. This was followed by two more players which begged us a question; Are player injuries to be blamed on the PMA Kakul training?
This is not the first time that Team Pakistan has trained with the army before. In 2016 when Mickey Arthur was assigned as the national team’s new coach, Pakistan were to travel to England for a full series comprised of four Test, five ODIs and a lone T20I game. Before their travel, the national team trained with the army at the same camp.
The camp saw a “dozen of them have been unable to meet the fitness criteria required to pass the tests,” concerning PCB. This training was done following Pakistan’s disastrous Asia Cup and T20 World Cup in 2016, where the then coach Waqar Younis and manager Intikhab Alam issued the bad fitness level of national players.
Also Read: Road to World Cup 2024: Pakistan’s Upcoming Series Schedule
PMA Kakul training: Was it necessary?
The instructors at the training camp assigned the players to various physical fitness routines, focusing on developing discipline and teamwork among the players. They expressed their satisfaction at the camp. They appreciated the atmosphere and believed that the training they received at the academy would help them later on.
But after Azam Khan’s calf injury dismissed him from the squad, fellow wicket-keeper batter Mohammad Rizwan and newbie Irfan Khan Niazi both were ruled out due to injuries. While Irfan’s injury was more of a hamstring injury, Rizwan’s injury was a bit more serious and was reported to miss the upcoming Ireland and England series.
Rizwan and Irfan were declared as two of the fittest athletes after the Kakul camp. The two players will work on their rehabilitation with the PCB Medical Panel at the NCA.
PCB’s response
Was the PMA Kakul training necessary? PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi said otherwise. He has defended his decision for the team to train with the military. The whole case for the training camp was to ensure that the players’ fitness met up to the mark. He stated that Pakistan players’ fitness is well below that of the rest of the world and he would bring in fitness experts to “ramp up player fitness” even more.
Azhar Mahmood, who was recently appointed as all-formats assistant coach, said that Kakul training had nothing to do with cricket.
“The injury the players sustained happened [while] playing cricket, and the training had to do with physical fitness. If the players were injured, they wouldn’t have played the first game. And Azam Khan was not injured before the series, he was injured in the nets.”
Pakistan will travel to Ireland for three T20Is starting May 10 before travelling to England for a series of four T20Is, starting on May 22. The Men’s T20 World Cup will begin from June 1.
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