LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is considering sending cricketers to the United States as part of a special development program designed to expose the players to different training environments and expand their skills.
While the arrangements are still being finalized and the participants are yet to be confirmed, Pakistan white-ball head coach Mike Hesson said during a recent interview with a local sports website that the proposed initiative is currently under consideration.
“We’re sending some players to America,” Hessen said. “There’s some power-hitting expertise out there, and we’re exploring some options.”
“We’ve got some players with some long-term injuries and we want to expose them to different power hitting methods and a different learning environment, spending four months in one place to get some fresh new ideas,” he added.
The proposed program is part of the PCB’s wider efforts to modernize player development and strengthen fitness standards across Pakistan cricket.
Earlier this year, the board appointed UK-based physiotherapist Dr Javed Mughal as director of sports and exercise medicine.
Speaking alongside PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi at a recent press conference, Mughal described fitness as a “non-negotiable” element of professional sports and introduced a comprehensive testing and screening system for players.
Mughal’s arrival has already begun to influence training methods at the National Cricket Academy (NCA), Hessen said, adding that the proposed American initiative will extend beyond exercise and conditioning.
“There’s a little bit of synergy. It’s definitely not just strength and conditioning,” Hessen said.
“We have Javed Mughal coming in and changing the way the players train and evaluate them differently. So he also needs time to plan that,” he added.
The former New Zealand coach welcomed the PCB’s willingness to explore innovative approaches to player development and learning opportunities abroad.
“I think it’s better that we explore those options of sending players to America rather than saying, ‘No, you have to stay here,'” he concluded.
The project is in the planning stages, with more details expected once the PCB finalizes logistics and player selections.