Sports Desk
KARACHI: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had invited West Indies-bound national Test squad members here at National Stadium to work on their fitness, strength, and skills.
Aim behind calling 11 Test specialists was to make the most of their free time and let them practice under the supervision of National High-Performance Centre (NHPC)’s coaches team headed by Saqlain Mushtaq (head of player development), including Mohammad Yousuf (batting coach), Mushtaq Ahmed (spin bowling coach), Umar Rashid (coach), Atiq-uz-Zaman (fielding coach), Imtiaz Ahmed (physiotherapist), Saboor Ahmed (strength and conditioning coach) and Imran Sultan (masseur).
Apart from the additional 11 players, including Abid Ali, Azhar Ali, Fawad Alam, Imran Butt, Mohammad Abbas, Naseem Shah, Nauman Ali, Sajid Khan, Shahnawaz Dahani, Yasir Shah, and Zahid Mahmood, six additional players were also called up to support the main players and gain some experience at the same time. They are, Akif Javed, Irfanullah Shah, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Hassan, Mohammad Umar, and Saifullah Bangash.
Highlights of Pakistan Test squad training and practice session at the On the first day of the camp, players warmed up followed by Fawad Alam and Imran Butt having a net session of spinners and fast bowling.
Yasir, Zahid, Nauman, and Sajid bowled to Fawad and Imran simultaneously. Similarly, fast bowlers Naseem, Hamza, Akif, and Irfanullah bowled to Fawad and Imran on the other net.
Other players including Azhar, Shahnawaz, Abbas did light training at the center ground of the stadium.
It must be noted here that these players will go in a bio-secure bubble for the West Indies tour on July 21 followed by their departure on 26. Pakistan is scheduled to play two Tests against West Indies from August 3. The rest of the Test players are also a part of the white-ball squad.
