HAMILTON: Pakistan’s players returned to national duty in New Zealand in worse shape after a five-week break, according to coach Mickey Arthur. Maintaining high fitness standards for Pakistan’s cricketers has been a particular challenge for Arthur, and on a tough tour in which Pakistan were blown away 5-0 in the ODIs before bouncing back to clinch the T20I series, their lack of match fitness was at times exposed by a fresher looking New Zealand side.
Arthur deemed the ODI showing unacceptable, saying his focus was primarily on the 2019 World Cup, for which he would in future look to manage players’ T20 commitments in a way that did not compromise their match fitness when they turned out for Pakistan.
“I saw that players returned in a far worse state physically and technically when they were away from us for five weeks,” Arthur told ESPNcricinfo. “Of course I want our players to make extra money, so I will be reasonable with our management plan. But some players came back far worse from T20 competitions in all departments. It’s just so important to manage the players individually because each case is different.”
Pakistan’s last international commitment before the New Zealand tour was against Sri Lanka, a tour which ended on October 29.
Since then their players have taken part in a domestic T20 competition, some played in the BPL, some in the T10 tournament in the UAE and one – Shadab Khan – in a few matches in the BBL. That broke a period in which the management’s oversight of players’ fitness was very hands-on, perhaps even too overbearing. Agencies
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