'Pakistan weighed down by fielding fumbles, fitness levels'

Pakistan's spin bowling coach Mushtaq Ahmed insists the national Twenty20 (T20) players need to improve upon their fielding and fitness in the aftermath of this series defeat to England here.
Taking catches cleanly is - of course - absolutely imperative in the shortest format of the game, with every dropped chance giving a costly reprieve to an opposing batsman liable to bludgeon boundaries at will thereafter.
Such a seismic shortcoming has long been associated with Pakistan's play, but it now appears they have another obvious deficiency and it is a weighty issue. A fair few of their number have strode out to the crease carrying excess timber beyond what they're holding in their hands and that has clear drawbacks when fielding inside the circle.
"The protocol of the game has been changed in modern-day cricket, like one-day internationals (ODIs) and Twenty20," Ahmed admitted.
"We're second in the Twenty20 world rankings because we have got skillful players. But, we are maybe lacking in fielding and fitness and we have to improve in those areas. It's a fitness game. "You have to face reality and the reality is here is that we have to raise our game. We're perhaps lacking something."
Pakistan's coach Waqar Younis had previously raised concerns over the number of run-outs among senior players to boot. "It's a worrying sign," Waqar conceded.
"We've had quite a few run-outs since this tour has started and it has been a problem.
"These guys who have been run out have been involved in this game -and been part of the Pakistan team - for a long time now, so they have to really put their heads together and start thinking about what is happening."
alex@khaleejtimes.com

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