Pakistan head coach Mickey Arthur, who is monitoring the boot camp in Lahore, has sent a strict warning to the players, in a bid to return to practice, before taking on Sri Lanka in October while stating the prime focus is fitness and there would be no compromise during the process.
“There’s no comfort zone for anybody,” Arthur was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
It’s pertinent to mention the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), is organizing a training camp from August 22 while further gauging the fitness standard of players, who are participating at the international setup.
“We come back here for the camp from the August 22. It’s now time to get back to work, get back to the hard work,” Arthur added.
Moreover, the conditioning camp is believed to find the resources apart from the improvement of the fitness of the players as Arthur was impressed by the young crop of cricketers.
While talking to media at National Academy (NCA) in Lahore, the Johannesburg-born Arthur, who has played the first-class cricket, revealed it was exciting to be the part of the team which has shown true character, dedication while giving their best shot, adding it’s all over, as the unit must focus on the upcoming events.
“I’m so proud of the way they fought back, their commitment, their work ethic – everything was outstanding, but it’s finished now, it’s gone, that’s done,” Arthur said.
While thrusting on the selection, Arthur was straightforward in his response to the selection of players, who according to him should meet the requirement set by the management at the first instance.
“We’ve got to keep pushing to keep getting better and better. There’s not going to be any hang over from the Champions Trophy, I can assure you that,” Arthur maintained.
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Arthur further stated the fast bowler Wahab Riaz has to work hard in order to stay in the competition while adding Umar Akmal, who has been axed from PCB’s central contract list, was provided many opportunities, but he has failed to grab the chances as Arthur was clear to mention it all depends on the batsman now for the foreseeable fixture.
“Umar Akmal failed several fitness tests, what do you want us to do,” Arthur asserted.
Coming to the conclusion, Pakistan was scheduled to visit Bangladesh in August as per the world cricket governing body ICC’s Future Tours Programme, as the series was scrapped after PCB and Bangladesh Cricket Board’s (BCB), talks failed to reach the agreement as Pakistan suggested the neighbouring Board to tour Pakistan which was equally rejected by the Tigers cricket association.