Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi announced that the Men in Green are set to train with the nation’s army, from March 25 to April 8 in a ten-day training camp. The camp will begin almost one after the Pakistan Super League (PSL) concludes (March 18) and Naqvi is hopeful that players will get their fitness “up to speed.”
“When I was watching the matches in Lahore, I don’t think a single one of you hit a six that went into the stands. Whenever a six like that was hit, I used to think a foreign player must have hit that. I have asked the board to make a plan that gets every player’s fitness up to speed. You’ll have to make a proper effort for that,” Naqvi said as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.
“We have New Zealand coming up, then Ireland, England and the T20 World Cup. I wondered, ‘When will we train?’ but there was no time. However, we’ve found a window, where we’ve organised a camp in Kakul (military academy) from March 25 to April 8. The Pakistan Army will be involved in your training, and hopefully, they’ll help you out.” he added.
This is not the first time that the Pakistan cricket team is getting involved with the military. During Misbah-ul-Haq’s captaincy, the Pakistan team organised a training camp with the military at Kakul Academy to gear up for their Test series against England.
Misbah went on to score a century in the first Test and celebrated the feat by doing ten pushups which was followed by a military salute.
Naqvi went on to emphasize the importance of players prioritizing national duties instead of focusing on T20 Leagues around the world.
“I’m not going to say you mustn’t earn money, or ask you to make sacrifices we are also not ready to make. But let me give you one example. One year ago, I was asked to become the chief minister of Punjab, and it caused me a financial loss in my business. I had to leave that aside and incur several extra costs. But I had a desire to represent Pakistan, and so I had to make that sacrifice,” Naqvi said.
“I will support you 100 per cent, but I’ll just ask you to make Pakistan your first priority, and T20 leagues your second priority. It’s unfortunate when money becomes first priority and the country second. If you do that, then we might have a problem. We can even look at central contracts and bolster them further if you desire, but you must be available for Pakistan first and foremost,” Naqvi added.
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