Misbah defies age, injury to be country’s fittest cricketer

Masood, Younus, Shehzad, Fawad, Ehsan and Amin also impress.

KARACHI: Pakistan’s ageing skipper Misbahul Haq is still holding his own among the young guns as he was once again the fittest player in the side, along with Shaan Masood, as revealed by the results of the recently concluded fitness test of centrally contracted players.

The 40-year-old is showing no signs of age and recovered in time from a problematic hamstring to appear in the test before the team flew to Auckland, New Zealand.

According to the report compiled by relevant Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) officials, Misbah and Shaan both reached the 80% fitness mark, which is the highest among the players.



The PCB had given extended rest to players who had appeared in the Test series against Australia and New Zealand, and their tests were taken in January, whereas all the other players appeared for the tests in December at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore.

The likes of Younus Khan, Zulfiqar Babar and Misbah were the last players to appear in the fitness tests during the short training camp for the World Cup.

“Misbah has been a great example for youngsters as he is still pushing his body to not only compete with them but also remain at the top,” a PCB official said in praise of the captain while talking to The Express Tribune. “He was being tested after overcoming his hamstring injury and impressed in the tests, showing little sign of fatigue or injury.”

Misbah and Masood are followed by Ahmed Shehzad, who finished at 75%, while others who will be rewarded for their superior fitness levels are Fawad Alam, Umar Amin, Younus and surprisingly Ehsan Adil, who had failed to clear the previous test.

“All seven players will be awarded for showing superior fitness levels,” the official added.

Meanwhile, star all-rounder Shahid Afridi is among the 13 players who have cleared the test, including Sarfaraz Ahmed, Muhammad Hafeez, Junaid Khan, Asad Shafiq, Muhammad Talha, Rahat Ali, Babar, Anwar Ali, Azhar Ali, Umar Gul, Yasir Shah and Adnan Akmal.

Eight players fail fitness test

As many as eight players have failed the test, including four members of the World Cup touring party, with Umar Akmal being among the biggest disappointments as he could not even touch the 60% mark.

All eight players – Umar, Sharjeel Khan, Sohaib Maqsood, Haris Sohail, Muhammad Irfan, Abdur Rehman, Raza Hasan and Khurram Manzoor – had previously been in that list as well.

“All eight players will be penalised and 25% of their contract fee will be deducted,” the official further added.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 24^th,  2015.

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