ISLAMABAD: A PML-N lawmaker during a National Assembly committee meeting on Wednesday said cricket players should offer prayers instead of doing push-ups following a victory. MNA Chaudhry Nazeer Ahmad said, during an Inter-Provincial Coordination Committee meeting, that while physical movement was a healthy activity, “it would be better if players offer nawafil (special prayers) instead of push-ups to celebrate victory.” Questions were raised over the cricket team’s unusual celebrations during the meeting, as another lawmaker wondered who Misbahul Haq and his men were signalling, and why they only did push-ups when the team won and remained silent when they lost. “Who were Misbah and his men giving a message to by doing push-ups?” asked PML-N MNA Rana Muhammad Afzal. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) executive committee chairman, Najam Sethi, earlier told the meeting that cricket players “had been stopped” from performing push-ups after winning matches. Sethi responded to lawmakers’ questions by saying that Misbah had performed the push-ups to show off his fitness after completing a century, which was later followed by other players. The players had done push-ups following their pre-tour boot camp with the Pakistan Army but “this activity has been stopped now,” he told the committee. The push-ups were first performed by skipper Misbah when he completed his century on the opening day of the first Test against England in July, and the gesture was repeated by the entire team upon their victory at Lord’s. Misbah’s side went to an army boot camp before the tour to improve their infamously poor fitness, and senior batsman Younus Khan led the squad in performing a routine of push-ups followed by a military-style salute in front of the ground’s famous Pavilion. “That was my promise to the army guys,” Misbah had said at a press conference after the match, referring to the unusual celebration.