Hafeez shared his concerns and observations about the team’s physical condition during his tenure as Director of Cricket
Former all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez has made serious revelations about the fitness levels of the current Pakistan cricket team under previous management led by Mickey Arthur and Grant Bradburn.
The former team director pointed out that the previous management, including Mickey Arthur, former coach Grant Bradburn, and current skipper Babar Azam, did not prioritize player fitness, ultimately impacting the team’s performance during the Test series in Australia.
He also recounted a conversation with the team’s trainer, expressing his dismay at the trainer’s compliance with the previous management’s directives.
“When I retired from this team, I ticked all the boxes of fitness. If I could do it at the age of 41, then why can’t the others? As I joined the team as Director, I noticed the fat percentage of the players had gone up, and the running ability went down. I asked the trainer what had happened. Why the players aren’t able to go through the tests?” Hafeez questioned.
“He revealed a very shocking fact that the last management, comprising Mickey Arthur, Grant Bradburn, and Babar Azam, asked him to put the fitness equation out and let the players play how wanted to play till the World Cup 2023,” he continued.
“I was like, why didn’t you resign straight away if you feel like someone is asking you not to do your job? Just say that this is not the way to deal with international cricketers, so he said, I can’t do anything because at that time, whatever management said to me, I followed their directions. That was why we were struggling in the final innings of the Test series against Australia. We looked fatigued because we were missing that fitness level,” he concluded.
