(AFP Photo)
As the Pakistan senior men’s national team prepares for their home series against Bangladesh, fitness has become a key focus. This follows a period of controversy regarding their fitness regime before the T20 World Cup, when the team trained at an Army camp.
With fitness once again a topic of discussion ahead of the Test series against Bangladesh, former Pakistan captain Salman Butt has highlighted the three fittest players in the squad.
Interestingly, Salman Butt’s list of the fittest Pakistan cricketers does not feature white-ball captain Babar Azam. Instead, Butt has identified Shan Masood, Fakhar Zaman, and Mohammad Rizwan as the squad’s fittest players.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Butt highlighted that these players have shown remarkable fitness levels, consistently excelling in Yo-Yo tests and demonstrating strong performance both in the gym and on the field.
Butt believes that these three players rank among the top ten fittest cricketers globally.
“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,” Butt said in a video on his YouTube channel.
Although he selected three Pakistani players as the fittest in world cricket, Butt voiced concerns about the overall fitness levels within the squad. He noted that preparations are not meeting expectations.
Butt pointed out that due to the low fitness levels of a few individuals, the entire team is unfairly perceived as unfit, which overshadows the efforts of those who are in excellent physical condition.
“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. 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,” the 39-year-old added.
Butt also suggested that the team management should effectively oversee the fast bowlers, ensuring they participate regularly in Test matches or first-class cricket.
“You need to manage fast bowlers, the problem is they don’t play longer format, they don’t feature in FC cricket, we don’t play much Test cricket. 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,” Butt concluded.
Fitness will be a key concern as the Pakistan team embarks on a demanding schedule this season, beginning with the two-Test series against Bangladesh starting August 21.
