Wasim Akram Criticizes Pakistan Cricketers for Poor Fitness and T20 World Cup Failures
Legendary Pacer Wasim Akram Criticizes Pakistan Cricket Team’s Fitness Levels
KARACHI – Iconic pacer Wasim Akram Criticizes Pakistan Cricketers for Poor Fitness and T20 World Cup Failureshas voiced strong criticism regarding the fitness levels of Pakistan’s national men’s cricket team, linking their recent poor performances to inadequate physical conditioning. Reflecting on the team’s struggles over the past two years, Akram expressed concern about the players’ fitness and its impact on their T20 World Cup performance this year.
“I haven’t discussed this widely before, and I don’t have inside information, but I was aware of the fitness issue two years ago. Our cricket players have not been prioritizing their fitness,” Akram stated. “The poor fitness of our team was glaringly obvious during the [T20] World Cup.”
Akram contrasted the fitness standards of his era with today’s advancements, noting that modern players have access to significantly more fitness information. “If I were playing cricket now, I would have access to much more fitness information, which is now commonplace,” he said. “In our time, fitness knowledge was limited, and we followed the practices of seniors like Imran Khan and Javed Miandad without much awareness of modern fitness techniques.”
Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt also raised concerns about the team’s fitness earlier this week but acknowledged that not all players are lacking in physical conditioning. Butt highlighted the exceptional fitness of Test captain Shan Masood, Fakhar Zaman, and Mohammad Rizwan. “Improvements in fitness are on the way. It’s not accurate to say that all players are unfit. Some, like Shan Masood, Fakhar Zaman, and Mohammad Rizwan, excel in Yo-Yo Tests, perform well in the gym, and display strong running capabilities on the field,” Butt noted.
