Pakistan’s dilemma: To train or not to train

BRISBANE: It was a short training session and the intensity was missing as Pakistan continued their preparations for Sunday’s match against Zimbabwe here at the Gabba on Friday, writes Khalid Hussian.
But it was a rare “light” day for the Pakistanis who have been pushed to the limits by their coaching staff spearheaded by Waqar Younis in recent times.
Pakistan have seen their injury list swell since Waqar’s return as their head coach and many of the former Test pacer’s critics blame his strict training regime for the national team’s growing fitness problem.
Many of the players are also unhappy with a series of tough training sessions that Waqar supervises with his assistants including Grant Luden, the fielding coach.
“Sometimes all the tough training leaves us too drained to give our best in the match where it really matters,” one of the players confided in ‘The News’.
In recent months, Pakistan have lost their key pacer Junaid Khan and all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez due to fitness problems. Here in Australia and New Zealand they have seen players like Ahmed Shehzad, Sohail Khan and Nasir Jamshed suffering injury problems.
However, a team official played down the issue saying that such stuff is part and parcel of the modern sport.
“Let me tell you that Pakistan’s training regime is not much different from any other international cricket team,” the official told ‘The News’ on the condition of anonymity.
According to well-placed sources, the general impression within the team management and the coaching staff is that the injury problem is growing not because of stiff training sessions but because of the players’ low levels of fitness.
“The problem with some of our players is that they are not as fit as a world class cricketer should be. But they do not admit it and blame others,” he said.
At the moment, it is Waqar who is getting most of the blame.
Some former cricketers, a few players of the current team players and a section of the media have been blaming him for Pakistan’s below-par showing in the World Cup.
Waqar, it seems, is caught between a rock and a hard place.
If he refrains from carrying out demanding training sessions then his critics will reject him as a good for nothing coach. And if he opts to carry out tough training then he is blamed for a growing list of injuries.