Pakistan lost their first warm-up match against England by 6 wickets.
Former captain Misbah ul Haq recently criticized current Pakistan players' fitness levels and claimed that their tummies are visible as a result of the lack of a fitness test in the selection process.
After Pakistan's massive loss to England in the warm-up match on Monday (October 17), Misbah made this statement.
The Men in Green posted 160/8 on the board, which England chased down with more than 4 overs to spare.
The former cricketer claimed following the game that neither a fitness test nor a standard to adhere to exists.
"Clear cut, fitness issues are visible, Waqar left four times [as coach], I left once. Players like myself, Shoaib Malik, and Younis Khan were quite into fitness, and we used to push ourselves. Those who push others out of their limitations are not considered good trainers nor good coaches. Their tummies are visible; their lower are heavy and they can't move. The reason behind this is there has not been a single fitness test, there is no benchmark," Misbah was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
He described the fitness level at the domestic level as a ‘joke’.
"Fitness test level during domestic season becomes a joke. We used to have arguments that we used to say that the standard used for the international level must be used for the domestic level as well. The responsible people at the domestic level always opposed us related to fitness," he added.
Babar Azam and Co. will begin T20 World Cup 2022 campaign against arch-rivals India on Sunday (October 23) at the iconic MCG.
(CRICKET PAKISTAN INPUTS)