Tough Fitness Test To Greet Inzamam At Conditioning Camp!

When Inzamam-ul-Haq turns up for a conditioning camp in Lahore later this month, the former Pakistan captain would be greeted on his arrival by a tough physical fitness test.

‘The News’ has learnt through knowledgeable sources that Pakistani cricket officials have decided to make the aging Inzamam go through a rigorous fitness test in a bid to check whether the batsman is still physically strong to play Test cricket.

Inzamam, 37, has retired from one-day cricket but insists that he can still play Test cricket for Pakistan and reach a personal milestone by becoming the first man from his country to make 10,000 Test runs.

However, sources said that most people in Pakistan cricket’s corridors of power are against the return of Inzamam, a player who was singled out as the chief villain behind the country’s embarrassing first round exit in the 2007 World Cup in March.

Inzamam led Pakistan in the World Cup but later resigned as captain after his team was knocked out of the event following a shock defeat to tournament underdogs Ireland.

Most of the PCB and team officials and national selectors are convinced that Inzamam is over-the-hill and cannot make much contribution to the Pakistan team which needs fresh blood. More importantly, they believe that Inzamam could be a destabilising factor for the team at a time when it is in a rebuilding stage.

But sources said that instead of directly blocking Inzamam’s return, the officials have decided to prepare a fitness test for the player who always had a disliking for such procedures.

“Officials are aware that Inzamam can cause havoc in the media if he is ignored for selection in Pakistan’s Test squad which is why they have opted for a transparent way out,” said a source. “They believe the best way to keep Inzamam away is by making him go through a grilling fitness test,” the source added.

Sources said that as captain Inzamam, who has a suspect back, avoided fitness tests and since he was in complete control, he was never questioned by the team officials or the PCB.

Inzamam will not be the only player to undergo a fitness test during the week-long conditioning camp pencilled in for August 19-26 in Lahore. All of Pakistan’s 15 players for next month’s Twenty20 World Cup will have to pass fitness tests during the camp that is to be supervised by the new national coach Geoff Lawson.

The Multan-born Inzamam is the highest run-getter for Pakistan in one-dayers and just needs 21 runs to surpass the legendary Javed Miandad as the most prolific batsman from his country in Tests.

Miandad scored 8832 runs in 124 Tests while Inzamam has 8813 runs from 119 Tests at an average of 50.07. He has 35 hundreds and 46 fifties.

Inzamam believes he can still give his bests in Test cricket and has made himself available for selection for the home series against South Africa in October