Pakistan white-ball camp targets fitness gains ahead of Asian Games and World Cup

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LAHORE: Pakistan men’s white-ball head coach Mike Hesson said the national team’s ongoing training camp is focused on raising fitness standards, improving conditioning and sharpening skills as the side prepares for a busy international schedule, including the Asian Games and the next ICC Men’s ODI World Cup.
The camp, which began on June 15 at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Lahore, has brought together around 28 players, including established white-ball specialists, emerging cricketers and prospects identified for future international assignments.
Hesson said the initial phase of the camp had concentrated on medical screening and fitness assessments to establish benchmarks for each player before moving into more intensive skill-based work.
“We started the white-ball camp two weeks ago here at the National Cricket Academy. We have had around 27 to 28 players taking part in it,” Hesson told PCB Digital. “The first couple of weeks have mainly been about medical testing and fitness assessments, which allow us to get a baseline of where the players are at.”
The former New Zealand coach said Pakistan’s relatively light white-ball schedule over the coming months provides a rare opportunity to address physical conditioning, an area he believes is crucial for sustained success at the international level.
“Most white-ball players, especially those involved in different formats, struggle to get a good block of training,” Hesson said. “A huge advantage for us is that we have almost three months where we can make some big gains from a conditioning point of view.”
Hesson credited newly appointed medical and conditioning specialist Dr. Javed Mughal for introducing stricter standards and a more rigorous fitness regime.
“Dr Javed Mughal has come in and set some high standards in terms of medical screening and conditioning,” he said. “The players are finding it tough, which is no surprise. When you play for long periods, fitness levels can go down from a general conditioning and strength perspective.”
“To withstand the demands of international cricket, players have to be incredibly fit and strong. We are working on both areas.”
The coach said every player attending the camp had been assigned an Individual Performance Plan (IPP), developed jointly by coaches, medical staff and conditioning experts to ensure targeted development.
“We start every camp with individual meetings involving the player, the head coach, NCA staff, the conditioning and medical teams,” Hesson said. “Over the next three weeks, every player will have clear focus points. These will include technical and tactical areas, as well as medical or conditioning areas that need work.”
“We are working with purpose. We are not just turning up every day and hoping things work out.”
Hesson also highlighted the importance of integrating Pakistan’s emerging talent into the national setup, particularly players who recently featured at the Under-19 level.
“It is exciting to work with a lot of the U19 talent,” he said, naming Samir Minhas, Farhan Yusuf, Ali Raza and Abdul Subhan among the youngsters currently benefiting from exposure to the senior environment.
“We need to give them experience and challenge them so that when they get the opportunity to play for Pakistan.”