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The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has come up with a new idea to improve the fitness standard of the Pakistan National Cricket Team. The Pakistan Cricket Board has now made padel a compulsory part of training at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Lahore.
The PCB has made padel a compulsory part of every player's training routine during long training camps. From now on, every player attending a long training camp will have to follow this after their fitness standards have often been questioned in recent years. Amid this, Abrar Ahmed's The Hundred signing: Kavya Maran avoids controversial question.
PCB orders Pakistan players to play padel during training camps
Under the new rule, Pakistan National Cricket Team players will play padel for 40 minutes every other day along with their regular cricket practice. The Pakistan Cricket Board introduced this rule with an aim to improve fitness, quick movement, reflexes, and fielding standards.
The decision has been taken by Pakistan's chief selector and director of high performance, Aqib Javed. He believes that padel is a simple but very effective sport that can help players improve their agility, footwork, stamina, and overall movement.
To make the plan successful, the PCB has also built a new padel court at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore. Earlier, many Pakistan players were already playing padel, but they had to travel to different places because there were only a few courts available in their cities.
Aqib Javed explains the reason behind the new move
Aqib Javed was quoted as saying by PTI, "Many of our players are already playing padel sports regularly but had to travel long distances to the limited courts in their hometowns. We have now built a paddle court facility at the NCA for the players.”
Now, players can play padel at the academy itself as part of their daily training schedule without leaving the campus. Padel is a fast-growing sport that combines elements of tennis and squash.
Padel is a sport that combines elements of tennis and squash. It is played on a smaller court, but players have to move quickly, change direction fast, and react in a very short time. Because of this, the PCB believes it can help cricketers become better athletes and stronger fielders.
Aqib Javed also wants the National Cricket Academy to become a place where players can improve not only their cricket skills but also their overall fitness. With this new rule, 40-minute padel sessions every second day will now become a regular part of Pakistan's training camps.
AI-powered bowling machine added to training facilities
On the other hand, the NCA has also upgraded its training facilities by adding an AI-powered bowling machine. These latest additions are part of the PCB's bigger plan to give players modern training tools, improve their fitness and skills, and help them prepare better for international cricket. Amid this, BCCI unhappy with CoE over India's injury concerns, seniors raise alarm.
Pakistan will next face the West Indies for a two-match Test series, with the first Test scheduled to begin on July 25 in Tarouba. The second and final Test will be played from August 2 in Port of Spain, with Babar Azam returning to lead the side after being reappointed as Pakistan's Test captain.
