Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur has expressed his concerns regarding the workload of top national players, after watching them struggle with niggles during the ongoing PSL 2019.

Arthur, who is also the coach of Karachi Kings, said some of the players have been playing almost non-stop for months. Pakistan are set to host Australia in the UAE for a five-match ODI series next month. Already, star leg-spinner Shadab Khan has been struggling with a problematic groin while batsman Babar Azam and all-rounder Faheem Ashraf have some fitness concerns. While they aren’t necessarily injured, Arthur fears they can soon be .

“It is a little bit of worry for me going forward that our players who have played for Pakistan have played for four and a half months,” Arthur was quoted as saying by Geo TV.

“We are starting to see that Shaheen Afridi pulled up. That’s a bit of a worry. Babar Azam has got a little bit of a niggle. Faheem Ashraf and Shadab Khan are both very tired. Shadab’s groin is starting to play up. These are the issues that are worrying for me and I’m talking as the head coach of Pakistan,” he said.

Arthur said it was important for key players to be given adequate rest before the World Cup.

“We have got a series against Australia. Inzi (chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq) and I have been talking very closely about testing our bench strength because we need to find some time for our players that play all three formats to have a break, to go and refresh themselves. Otherwise our key players in World Cup will be breaking down because we play too much cricket,” Arthur said.