After former PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board) chairman Najam Sethi, legendary off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq has taken a dig at the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) for the hybrid scheduling of the ongoing 2023 Asia Cup.
According to the current schedule, Pakistan are hosting four matches and the rest nine games are being held in Sri Lanka. India remained adamant that they would not travel to Pakistan to play Asia Cup and hence the hybrid model was proposed and accepted.
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The Men in Green started their campaign in Multan on August 30 and had to fly to Kandy to take on India in their second group-stage match.
After the match was washed out, Pakistan had to fly back to Lahore to play against Bangladesh in their first Super Four encounter on September 6. However, they cannot afford to spend a few days in Pakistan as they are scheduled to play India on September 10 at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
Mushtaq believes that the to-and-fro journey takes a heavy toll on players and their performance level drops due to inadequate recovery and rest. Hence, he hit out at the ACC for proposing the hybrid model which he believes is affecting Pakistani players negatively.
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What did Shaqlain Mushtaq say about the effects of excessive travel on the Pakistan team?
"I was the head coach of the Pakistan team and I used to get regular reports about players' fatigue, fitness and the effects of jet lag as well," he told CricWick.
"For example, after every travel I used to get reports that Shaheen Afridi's swelling of the knee has increased. So there is an effect of excessive travel.
"There are some players who remain jet-lagged for 8-10 hours, some for a day, whereas for some it is over 72 hours. So if there are niggles it might become an injury as well. The entire rest day gets wasted and travelling is even worse than playing. The effects of travelling are worse. There are some players who think that they have played three consecutive matches when they are travelling (on the rest day). Some players feel they have played two matches on the same day. The effect is such.
"Also, the time of travel affects your body. If you travel during the day, it affects your body differently than if you travel at night. It's alright that we are hosting the tournament, and welcoming the teams but it is affecting our players," he added.
"Excessive travel adversely impacts a team's performance" 🛫@Saqlain_Mushtaq emphasizes how extensive travel can hinder players' fatigue recovery 🗣 | @RohaNadym
— CricWick (@CricWick) September 6, 2023
Watch now 👉 https://t.co/nTcPwAHk4p 📺#AskSaqlain #AsiaCup2023 #PakistanCricket pic.twitter.com/7JxFbPPyiH
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When is the next India vs Pakistan clash at Asia Cup 2023?
The much-anticipated Asia Cup 2023 clash between India and Pakistan on Saturday ended up as a colossal disappointment after rain forced a 'No Result'.
India have qualified for the Super Four stage along with Pakistan after defeating minnows Nepal by 10 wickets.
As a result, they will now take on Pakistan again in the Super Four stage. Pakistan and India will face each other on September 10 (Sunday) in the Super Four stage.
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