Batting coach Grant Flower has claimed that Pakistani batsmen are not as hard working as far as fitness is concerned saying that, “our players are very inconsistent with the way they practice.”
Flower said Pakistani batsmen remain in the delusion that whatever they have been doing in order to keep themselves fit is enough for them to excel in the international circuit.
“At the international level most of the guys’ techniques are sound. With Pakistan, it is more trying to get the routine right, but it is also about the preparation off the field regarding fitness,” Flower told ESPNCricinfo.
“You not only need that in fielding and bowling but equally in batting. If you are physically fit, it will definitely lead to a good lifestyle and better judgement at the crease,” he said.
Flower said our players are very inconsistent with the way they practice.
“They do work on their weak areas, but they could do a lot more. When you are an international player, you should be waking up and asking yourself what I have to do more to improve myself. If you are not answering that question then I don’t think you should be there,” he said.
Flower said that the upcoming camp for the national team, ahead of their tour of England, will also have a session with a psychologist.
He said he hopes that the upcoming camp will also cover the psychologist session and the players take that in a positive manner”.
Flower said it requires a lot of sacrifice to play for the country. “A good student of the game learns every day, lifestyle, gym work, and all those things required to be a better cricketer,” he said.
He claimed that it is not like 20 minutes in the gym and 20 minutes in the nets. “It is about quality time, absorbing everything rather than just being seen doing the right stuff and walking away saying that I have done enough.”
“A lot of guys kid themselves. They think they are doing enough to be playing for Pakistan and getting great results. I know a lot of time they are not doing enough. Sometimes I wish they could see how world-class players prepare and what it takes. They watch a lot of cricket, but I don’t know if they really digest what they see to get to the top,” he said. (APP)
