Ex-Pakistan coach Misbah-ul-Haq trashes Babar Azam-led team, says 'they can't move'

Pakistan cricket team did not have the best start to their T20 World Cup preparation after losing their opening warm-up match to England.  The team led by Shadab Khan were handed a 6-wicket loss by England. Regular skipper Babar Azam and wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan opted to not play the opening match. Former Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq had some harsh words for the team after their loss in the first warm-up match. 

Misbah-ul-Haq takes a jibe at the fitness of Pakistan players

The 48-year-old Misbah during an interview pointed out that some of the players in the Pakistan team look out of shape and that apart from a few no one else takes fitness seriously.  Speaking to cricket Pakistan he said, "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 during the interview also pointed escape the fact that things should be changed at the domestic level to secure the next generation of players for the national team. The former cricketer also shed limelight on how the people responsible would casually react when being asked to emphasize fitness. He said "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." The India vs Pakistan match is scheduled to take place on Sunday, October 23rd.

Pakistan's participation in ODI World Cup doubtful  

The Pakistan Cricket Board on Tuesday threatened to pull out of the ODI World cup following the comments made by BCCI secretary Jay Shah regarding hosting the Asia Cup at a neutral venue. India does play Pakistan at global or continental events but haven't travelled to the neighbouring country since the 2008 Asia Cup. Pakistan last came to India for a short six-match white ball bilateral series in 2012. 

Following the statement from Jay Shah sources close to PCB chairman, Ramiz Raja indicated that one of the options that they are mulling after Shah's statement is to pull out of 50-over ICC World Cup in India.  A senior PCB source speaking to PTI on conditions of anonymity said  "The PCB is now prepared to take hard decisions and play hardball because it is also aware that the ICC and ACC events will have to face commercial liabilities and losses if Pakistan does not play India in these multi-team events,"