Mohammad Hafeez Slams Former Captain Babar Azam: Former Pakistan director of cricket Mohammad Hafeez has recently slammed the culture of the Pakistani national cricket team, their former captain Babar Azam and previous director of cricket Mickey Arthur.
Appointed after Pakistan’s abysmal performance in the 2023 ODI World Cup, Hafeez oversaw the team’s disastrous tours to Australia and New Zealand. Under the new captaincy of Shan Masood, the Men in Green lost a three-match Test series against the Kangaroos 3-0. Then, under Shaheen Afridi’s captaincy, they lost a five-match T20I series 4-1 against the Kiwis.
Mohammad Hafeez Slams Former Captain Babar Azam
Having been let go from his position despite a four-year contract, Hafeez has hit out on the team and its fitness culture.
Speaking on Pakistani sports channel A Sports, Hafeez claimed that Pakistan players do not have the fitness to play international cricket.
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Mohammad Hafeez Slams Former Captain Babar Azam
Mohammad Hafeez On Pakistan Team’s Poor Fitness
During the appearance on the channel, ‘The Professor’ claimed that former captain Babar Azam and former director of cricket Mickey Arthur had instructed the trainers to overlook player fitness, he said –
“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.”
While Pakistan’s poor run continued after the removal of Azam and Arthur and the appointment of Hafeez, he claims that the poor performance of the team in Australia and New Zealand were due to lingering fitness issues, and the fact that several players in the team could not complete a 2 km run.
“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,” added Hafeez.
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Mohammad Hafeez On Pakistan Team’s Poor Fitness
Hafeez Reveals Reason Behind Poor Pakistan Form
Pakistan is now slated to take on England in a four-match T20I series from May 22, followed by their appearance in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024, where they will take on the USA in their opening match, and India in a marquee match on June 9.
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