The National Cricket Academy in Lahore is about to get very busy. From Monday, 8 June, two overlapping training camps – one for red-ball specialists, the other for limited-overs players – will run through the hottest months of the year. Sarfaraz Ahmed will look after the red-ball group; Mike Hesson takes charge of the white-ball squad.
Key dates and structure
• Red-ball camp: 8 June – 10 July
• White-ball camp: 15 June – 18 September
The timings dovetail with Pakistan’s next assignments. Once the red-ball camp ends, a short pre-tour gathering will precede the two-Test trip to the West Indies, with departure pencilled in for 15 July. The white-ball players will keep going until mid-September, tuning up for the Asian Games T20s in Japan and an October-November ODI tri-series at home against Sri Lanka and England.
Who’s in – and who isn’t
Forty-nine players have been called up initially: 22 for red-ball work, 27 for white-ball. The National Cricket Academy (NCA) has kept the door open for more names later in the summer, especially those currently contracted to English counties. If those men come into selection contention, they can be flown back for the closing weeks.
Some cross-pollination is already planned. Shaheen Shah Afridi – Pakistan’s one-day captain – appears in the white-ball list, yet coaches want him bowling longer spells as well. He, and the other players who were involved in the recent Australia ODI series, will not arrive until 15 June.
What the camp will cover
As ever, fitness and skills sit at the top of the agenda. Scenario-based matches are scheduled, a practical way of preparing for real-world situations rather than endless net sessions. The PCB statement spelled it out:
“Both camps have been devised to prepare players for upcoming international and domestic events. During the camps, the players will work with National and NCA coaches alongside PCB Medical staff on their skills and fitness. The players will also have one-on-one sessions with coaches to better understand the skills and fitness requirements at the international level.”
Early assessments
Results on the field have been mixed, if we are being polite. Beating an under-strength Australia 2-1 in home conditions that spun from day one was welcome yet hardly conclusive. Before that, Pakistan lost an ODI series in Bangladesh and exited the most recent T20 World Cup at the Super Eight stage – the fourth straight ICC tournament where the knockouts proved a step too far. White-ball frustrations are well documented; Test cricket causes even more hand-wringing. Pakistan have not won an away Test since 2023 and were beaten 2-0 on their most recent overseas tour, a sequence the coaches would love to halt.
Sarfaraz’s brief is to shore up a red-ball batting line-up that has become brittle on livelier pitches abroad. Hesson, renowned for forensic planning, takes on the task of sharpening limited-overs tactics – fielding standards in particular have slid.
Expert view
Former selector and broadcaster Tauseef Ahmed thinks timing matters: “June in Lahore is brutal, but you can learn a lot about players’ work ethic in that heat.” Analyst Anam Hasan agrees the dual-camp model could help role definition. “White-ball specialists often complain they feel like after-thoughts. Having a dedicated programme gives clarity,” she said.
What success would look like
Realistically, no camp cures every ill. Coaches are chasing incremental gains: quicker bowling kilos, tidier lengths, fewer soft dismissals, sharper throws from the ring. If those show up in the Caribbean Tests and then in Japan, the summer sweat will feel justified.
The mood in and around Gaddafi Stadium remains cautiously hopeful rather than giddy. Perhaps that is no bad thing. Pakistan sides have never lacked flair; consistency is the harder trick. A three-month training block, shared between two experienced head coaches, is a pragmatic stab at finding it.
For now, players pack their kits and brace for 40-degree afternoons under the NCA’s solar-panel roof. Talk of the next World Cup can wait – first comes the grind.
