LAHORE: With an objective to work on the hard-hitting and modern-day batting skills of the domestic and international players, the Pakistan Strike Force training camp has started here at the National Cricket Academy on Tuesday.
The camp will run from January 14-30 at the NCA Lahore and the second leg of the camp will take place at the Multan Cricket Stadium in Multan from February 1-28, a PCB spokesman, said, adding: “The programme will continue throughout the year as elite and emerging players will be invited to the camps from time to time.”
Former international Cricketer Abdul Razzaq, known for his incredible ball-striking ability in a 17-year long international career, where he hit 168 sixes, is the head coach for this camp. Razzaq will be assisted by former Test cricketer Humayun Farhat and former first-class player Kamran Sajid in the camp.
The experienced team of coaches will mentor 25 players regarding how to perform under immense pressure, build core strength and strategise aggression and restraint while playing top-flight cricket. Given the meticulous demands of the modern-day cricket, the players will be monitored closely in the camp and trained according to the upcoming challenges.
Following the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, Pakistan are scheduled to play two ICC T20I World Cups, an ICC Cricket World Cup and a number of bilateral white-ball series till 2028, so the camp will also help add quality bench strength to the batting departments of the national setup and domestic teams.
Haider Ali, Jahandad Khan, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mubasir Khan, Muhammad Irfan Khan and Usman Khan are the seven Pakistan capped players part of the Strike Force camp. Moreover, eight Pakistan internationals (men and women) cricketers are among the 30 participants who are taking part in the Level-2 Coaching course, which commenced at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore. The course will conclude on Sunday (January 19). Pakistan Test cricketers including Azhar Ali (97 Tests, 53 ODIs), Bilawal Bhatti (two Tests, 10 ODIs, 9 T20Is), Naved Latif (one Test, 11 ODIs), Shadab Khan (six Tests, 70 ODIs, 104 T20Is), Wahab Riaz (27 Tests, 91 ODIs, 36 T20Is) and Yasir Shah (48 Tests, 25 ODIs, two T20Is) are taking part in the six-day course, while Pakistan international Asad Ali (four ODIs, two T20Is) and former Pakistan Women’s captain Bismah Maroof (136 ODIs, 140 T20Is) are also taking part in the course.
The participants in the course will be taught on the advance coaching skills which include power hitting, modern technical and tactical aspects of the game.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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