Pakistan Coach Hesson Prepares Young Squad to Challenge India at Asian Games

Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson acknowledged Wednesday that his team must improve to compete with India at the Asian Games in Japan, where men's cricket competition begins Thursday. Speaking in Karachi before Pakistan's departure, Hesson described India as "the benchmark in terms of white-ball cricket at the moment," citing their back-to-back T20 World Cup victories and status as defending Asian Games champions. Pakistan has lost to India three times in the 2025 Asia Cup and once at this year's T20 World Cup since Hesson took charge in May 2025.

Hesson expressed confidence that Pakistan could apply pressure if the teams meet, referencing their performance in last year's Asia Cup final in Dubai. "We are certainly preparing as best we can and if we get an opportunity to play (India) we will certainly put them under pressure like we did in the final of the Asia Cup," he said. However, he cautioned against looking too far ahead, noting that "there is a lot of cricket to be played" before a potential meeting. India and Pakistan are positioned on opposite sides of the tournament draw and cannot meet in the semi-finals; a matchup is possible only in the gold-medal or bronze-medal matches on October 3.

Pakistan will begin their campaign against the winners of Pool B—comprising Hong Kong, Oman, and Malaysia—in the quarter-final on September 28. The squad is a combination of youth and experience, captained by opening batter Sahibzada Farhan, with international white-ball professionals including Saim Ayub, wicketkeeper Usman Khan, and legspinner Abrar Ahmed. Fast bowler Mohammad Wasim was brought into the squad late, replacing Salman Mirza, who sustained a fractured left thumb. In contrast, India has fielded a full-strength side.

Hesson emphasized that Pakistan's T20 performance over the past 15 months ranks third or fourth globally by win percentage, having risen from eighth to fifth in T20 rankings since his appointment and gained 30 ranking points. He highlighted Pakistan's recent progress, including reaching the Asia Cup final after failing to advance beyond the first round in three previous major tournaments. At the T20 World Cup, Pakistan reached the Super Eight stage before losing to England, who later made the final.

Pakistan has never won a medal in Asian Games cricket, losing bronze-medal matches in 2010 and 2023 and not competing in 2014. Hesson also addressed the broader state of Pakistan cricket, noting that while the T20 team has shown progress, the Test side is struggling and the ODI team is still developing ahead of next year's World Cup.