Pakistan's pre-season red-ball camp begins at NCA

LAHORE: The pre-season red-ball camp at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) has officially commenced, with preparations underway ahead of Pakistan’s upcoming Test assignments.

The NCA red-ball camp will continue until July 10, focusing on fitness and skill development of selected players. On the opening day, Director High Performance Aqib Javed addressed the players and briefed them on the objectives of the training camp.

He emphasised the importance of structured preparation and outlined the goals set for the camp, where players will undergo intensive work on both fitness and cricketing skills.

The camp is being conducted under the supervision of Director High Performance Aqib Javed and red-ball head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed.

Recently, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) invited 49 players to a broader training camp in Lahore, which includes 22 red-ball specialists and 27 white-ball cricketers.

The white-ball camp will continue until September 18, while the red-ball camp will run from Monday until July 10. Preparations for the West Indies tour are expected to begin on July 15.

The Green Shirts are currently enjoying a break of more than 50 days from international cricket following their third consecutive ODI series victory over Australia. The side sealed the series with a four-wicket win in the final ODI of a low-scoring contest.

The national side will return to action with a two-match Test series against the West Indies in Trinidad and Tobago, scheduled from July 25–29 and August 2–6.

Pakistan red-ball camp squad (22 players):

Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Fazal, Abrar Ahmed, Ali Usman, Amad Butt, Azan Awais, Babar Azam, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Rizwan, Muhammad Awais Zafar, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori, Obaid Shah, Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Saqib Khan, Saud Shakeel, Shahnawaz Dahani, Shahzad Gul and Shan Masood.