Rashid Latif: “Former greats like Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Mohammad Asif were way fitter than them and never used to miss any Tests or ODIs. But these guys, despite playing shorter formats, don’t have adequate fitness”
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Former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman Rashid Latif has criticised Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Shadab Khan and Imad Wasim, saying they “don’t have adequate fitness”.
Latif noted that all of them have suffered from injuries as of late, which is a far cry from legendary bowlers who used to play international cricket.
The 55-year-old recalled how cricketers like Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Mohammad Asif “never used to miss any Tests or ODIs” and admitted that they were “way fitter” than the current bunch of bowlers.
“A lot of bowlers like Shaheen, Naseem, Rauf, Shadab came back from injury and [then] Imad Wasim [was] injured. The biggest issue has been the fitness of the bowlers,” he told PTI as quoted by NDTV.
“Former greats like Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Mohammad Asif were way fitter than them and never used to miss any Tests or ODIs. But these guys, despite playing shorter formats, don’t have adequate fitness.”
The Pakistan team recently featured in the 2024 T20 World Cup, where they lost to the United States of America and India before fighting back to beat Canada and Ireland.
Despite triumphing in their last two group stage matches, the men in green failed to advance to the Super Eights.
Pakistan Squad for 2024 T20 World Cup: Babar Azam (capt), Saim Ayub, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Fakhar Zaman, Azam Khan (wk), Usman Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Amir, Abbas Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed