After the series loss to Bangladesh, Pakistan white-ball coach Mike Hesson has emphasised the need to develop depth and competition for places ahead of a challenging six months which includes Asia Cup and the T20 World Cup. Having started his coaching tenure with Pakistan with a whitewash of Bangladesh at home in June, they suffered a setback in Mirpur, where they lost the three-match series 1-2 with Hesson even criticising the standard of pitches being used.
Post their T20 World Cup and Champions Trophy debacle, Pakistan have made attempts to overhaul their squad, which is now currently led by Salman Agha and has no place for the likes Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan. Even in the pace department there was no place for Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah.
For long, Pakistan have appeared to play brand of cricket which has been outdated in T20s with Hesson – a successful coach in T20 franchise cricket – brought in to steady the ship and give a new direction. With the team struggling for experience, Hesson before leaving for the trip to US where they face West Indies in three T20Is in Lauderhill said what he believed are key takeaways from the two series he has been in charge.
Currently sitting 8th in the world we need to create depth and competition for places as well as play a style of cricket that can give us more consistency over time, especially at key event like Asia Cup and World Cups.
First 6 games on two contrasting pitches gave us key…
— Mike Hesson (@CoachHesson) July 25, 2025
“First 6 games on two contrasting pitches gave us key insights. A young batting group shone with 200+ scores early. Mirpur which is the lowest scoring venue in T20I’s certainly tested our adaptability and after struggling early we fought back and showed an ability to learn with experience,” Hesson posted on X (formerly Twitter).
“New players stepped up, showing promise and in some instances excelling. Specialist Coaches have played a key role in developing bowlers both here and at the NCA. Fielding was a huge step up in last two matches and were starting to look like an International fielding side,” Hesson who has coached teams in IPL, PSL wrote.
With Pakistan now focussing on building a strong squad for the T20 World Cup which is only six months away, they face a tough challenge. Post the West Indies series, the Asia Cup to be played in September would be a massive test for Pakistan as apart from world champions India, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka would also offer stern test. While they do have run of fixtures against South Africa to gain more experience and find the right combo, Hesson reckoned what is needed ahead of the T20 World Cup.
“Currently sitting 8th in the world we need to create depth and competition for places as well as play a style of cricket that can give us more consistency over time, especially at key event like Asia Cup and World Cups,” Hesson wrote.
