The players, this week, have been taking part in an intense fitness camp at the Army School of Physical and Training (ASPT) in Abbottabad.
Labelled the ‘retreat camp’, involving 26 players and led by captain Sarfraz Ahmed, the physical work began on Monday and will conclude on Friday.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Tuesday shared images of the players hard at work in the Pakistan military establishment, under the guidance of qualified coaches.
Pakistan Cricket Team retreat camp activity at Army School of Physical & Training (ASPT), Abbotabad. pic.twitter.com/d6jzOXsFEI
— PCB Official (@TheRealPCB) August 28, 2018
These fitness drills form part of Pakistan’s preparation for the Asia Cup in the UAE and will be followed by another training camp for which the schedule is set to be announced at a later date.
The Asia Cup was originally slated to be held in India but uncertainty surrounding Pakistan’s players being granted visas by the Indian government saw the tournament moved to the UAE.
The biennial tournament gets underway on September 15 in Dubai with Pakistan opening their campaign a day later against a yet to be decided qualifier.
Pakistan have been drawn in the same group as their arch-rivals India and the blockbuster meeting between the two sides takes place on September 19, again in Dubai.
PAKISTAN 26-MAN PROBABLE LIST
Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Sarfraz Ahmed (c), Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali, Usman Khan Shinwari, Mohammad Nawaz, Imad Wasim, Haris Sohail, Mohammad Hafeez, Yasir Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Junaid Khan, Sahibzada Farhan, Shan Masood, Usman Salahuddin, Asad Shafiq, Bilal Asif, Mohammad Asghar, Rahat Ali, Mir Hamza.
