PCB may fly players to USA for power-hitting training

PCB May Fly Players to USA for Power-Hitting Training

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is assessing the viability of sending a handful of cricketers to the USA as part of a programme to explore their skillset in a different learning environment. While arrangements to facilitate the move are not yet complete, and a final decision on which players are sent is yet to be taken, Pakistan white-ball coach Mike Hesson confirmed to Cricinfo that a plan was in the works.

“We’re sending some players to the US,” Mike Hesson tells Cricinfo. “There’s some power-hitting expertise over there, and we’re exploring some options. We’ve got some players who’ve had some longer-term injuries, and players we want to expose to different methods of power hitting and just a different learning environment, spending four months in one place to get some new fresh ideas.”

Overhauling Medical and Fitness Culture

The move would further signal the PCB’s intentions of overhauling what has long been perceived as a less than adequate medical and fitness culture within Pakistan cricket. Earlier this year, Dr Javed Mughal, a UK-based physiotherapist, was appointed Director Sports and Exercise Medicine. At a press conference alongside PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi earlier this month, he called fitness a “non-negotiable” in professional sport, and said the PCB had “developed a robust, reliable and repeatable testing and screening battery we had started to apply to all players.”

Hesson alluded to Mughal’s arrival, and the changes afoot within Pakistan’s National Cricket Academy (NCA), while saying sending players to the US was about more than just fitness. “There’s a bit of a collaboration. It’s certainly not just strength and conditioning,” Hesson said. “We’ve got Javed Mughal who’s come in here and changing the way players are training and assessing them in a different way. So he needs time to plan it out as well.”

Players in Consideration

Under 19 fast bowler Ali Raza, frequently touted as one of Pakistan’s most exciting white ball pace prospects, is among the players understood to be in consideration to be sent to the US, should the overall plan materialise. Raza, 18, was part of Pakistan’s team who won the 50-over U19 Asia Cup last year with a win over India in the final where he took 4-42, including the early wicket of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. Earlier this year, he took a hat-trick in the PSL for Peshawar Zalmi, who went on to win the title. He has not yet made an international debut – though he has been included in Pakistan’s Asian Games squad later this year – with Pakistan keen to prioritise his fitness and workload.

“Pace bowling wise, there’s no more injuries [within Pakistan] than there are anywhere else in the world,” Hesson said. “We’re trying to get Ali Raza fit and strong enough to deal with the demands of international cricket. It’s tough trying to be able to bowl multiple spells and sustain his pace. We know when he’s at his top end pace, he’s exciting. But when the pressure ramps up, the pressures on the body ramp up. So he’s got to work on his body so he can deal with those.

Overall, though, Hesson struck an upbeat note about the decision. “I think it’s good that we’re looking at exploring those [options of sending players to the US], rather than saying ‘no, you have to stay here’.”

*A complete version of Cricinfo’s interview with Mike Hesson will be available soon