Pakistan skipper Inzamam-ul Haq has blamed a spate of fitness problems in the national team for its poor performance in South Africa.

Pakistan ended their tour on Wednesday with another humiliating nine wickets defeat in Johannesburg to lose the one-day series 3-1. They lost the Test series 2-1.

Fast bowlers, Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul and Shabbir Ahmed were called back due injuries during the tour.

But Inzamam said on a television channel the fitness problems ran deep into the team.

"People only know about the injuries to these three players. But other players also had fitness niggles but continued playing on due to the situation," he said without explaining why the team management then decided to send back Danish Kaneria after the Test series.

Kaneria now picked for the World Cup has not missed any of Pakistan's 30 Tests in the last three years.

Inzamam said the players had tried hard but the fitness niggles cost them dearly.

He said that a punishing international schedule had been the reason for the fitness problems to the players.

"We have hardly had any proper rest for the last three months and the boys have been on the road for a while now," Inzamam said.

Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer also cited the schedule as a reason for the team's poor performances and admitted despite remaining coach of the team for the last four years he could not put a finger on one particular reason why Pakistan was so inconsistent.

Inzamam said the players would now get a chance to recover and rest before the World Cup.

"We will try to put behind us the disappointments of this tour and bounce back in the World Cup as we have a balanced and multi-talented team," he said.

Pakistan also lost all-rounder, Shahid Afridi after the third game of the one-day series due to a four-match ban slapped by ICC for bringing the game into disrepute.