Pakistan coach Hesson: 'India is the benchmark' ahead of Asian Games cricket

Coach's statement

Speaking to reporters at a pre-departure training camp ahead of the Asian Games, Pakistan's white-ball head coach Mike Hesson said "India are the benchmark in terms of white-ball cricket at the moment, and our challenge is to catch up to that." He acknowledged that Pakistan has lost to India "on multiple occasions," which is why India serves as the reference point for all Pakistani teams.

Hesson added that his team is preparing as best it can, and that if Pakistan gets the chance to face India, they will try to put them under pressure — as they managed to do in the final of last year's Asia Cup. He noted there is still a lot of cricket to be played before any potential final meeting, so the team is not getting ahead of itself.

Asian Games format

In the men's cricket event at the Asian Games, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are the four seeded teams, each entering directly in the quarter-finals starting September 28. Pakistan will face the runner-up of Group B — which contains Hong Kong, Malaysia and Japan — in the first quarter-final on that date.

Context — a turbulent stretch for Pakistan

Hesson's comments come after a difficult period for Pakistan cricket: the team suffered a 3-0 Test series whitewash against England, seven players were dropped from the touring squad after the second Test, and red-ball head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed along with bowling coach Umar Gul were sacked. These developments concern the red-ball (Test) setup, which is separate from the white-ball unit led by Hesson.

Recent history against India

According to the source, Pakistan won every match it played against other teams at last year's Asia Cup, but lost three times specifically to India — including in the tournament final — which explains why the coach singled out India as the measuring stick.

Pakistan squad

Pakistan's squad named for the Asian Games men's cricket event includes captain Sahibzada Farhan, vice-captain Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Ahmed Daniyal, Akif Javed, Ali Raza, Arafat Minhas, Haider Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Maaz Sadaqat, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Saad Masood, Saim Ayub, Sufyan Moqim, and wicket-keeper Usman Khan.