Shahid Afridi Hints At Rift Between Misbah-ul-Haq And Pakistani Players

Shahid Afridi during an interview hinted at a possible rift between Misbah-ul-Haq and Pakistani players and hence, here is a look at what “Lala” said and why he might be right.

Read: Shahid Afridi’s All-time XI Has Five Pakistani Cricketers In It

So, What Did Shahid Afridi Say About Misbah-ul-Haq?

Shahid Afridi was quoted by www.pakpassion.net for saying, “Sometimes I don’t understand what’s behind their physical fitness tests, they seem to have tests very often – even as PSL was ending, they were planning tests after PSL but that didn’t happen due to lockdown.”

He also said that “They want the same fitness level from fast-bowlers, batsmen and wicket-keepers. Everyone has their own body and capabilities. A kid who weighs 60kgs is being asked to lift a weight of 120-130kgs which causes his back to break.”

While referring to a senior player the star all-rounder said that, “You have some of your top cricketers, who I will not name, have knee problems…So I asked them what’s the issue, they said we are made to train so much and lift so much weight; Every 15 days we have fitness tests.”

Shahid Afridi while elaborating on the role of Misbah-ul-Haq said that “These guys aren’t happy so Misbah should sit down these senior players and get the trainer who likes to do these fitness tests to attend this session and talk about a plan for fitness; The knees of these players aren’t in good shape and T20 World Cup is coming, these are humans and it’s not like you can replace (their knees like) a car tyre, so let’s fix their fitness.”

Read: Azhar Mehmood Blames Team Management For Hasan Ali’s Injury

Why Boom Boom Might Be Right

Fitness of Pakistani cricketers has been under a cloud for a while now and numerous media reports have come out suggesting that the Misbah-ul-Haq led regime that also includes Wqar Younis has gone a little too far and their method has resulted in injuring players.

Former bowling coach Azhar Mehmood expressed similar views while referring to Hasan Ali’s injury only a few days back and hence, it seems Afridi has rightly pointed out the issue.