India are the benchmark but Pakistan can put them under pressure: Mike Hesson

Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson has acknowledged that India remain the benchmark in white-ball cricket but believes his side can put their arch-rivals under pressure if the two teams meet at the Asian Games in Japan.

The two sides cannot face each other before the medal stage, with both entering the men’s T20 competition directly in the quarter-finals. Pakistan will face the runners-up from Group B on September 28, while India will face the runners-up from Group A on the same day. The opponents can only meet in a gold or bronze match.

“India are the benchmark of white-ball cricket at the moment and our job is to catch up,” Hesson said on the sidelines of Pakistan’s pre-departure camp in Karachi.

“We are preparing as best we can and if we get an opportunity to play (India) we will definitely put them under pressure like we did in the Asia Cup final. There is a lot of cricket to be played between now and before we can play the final for both sides so we are not getting too ahead of ourselves,” he added.

Pakistan will head into any potential clash with India knowing that the recent T20I record has heavily favored their neighbours. India have won the last six T20Is between the teams, including three matches in the 2025 Asia Cup.

‘PAKISTAN T20I TEAM AT LOW IS WRONG’

However, Hesson dismissed the suggestion that Pakistan’s T20I side was struggling to find its feet. He admitted that the Test team has problems after being swept 3–0 by England in their three-Test seriesbut said there was no reason to suggest that the T20I team was going through a similar phase.

“The Test team is struggling and we’re all well aware of that. But the T20I team’s win percentage in the last 15 months has been the third or fourth best. We’ve lost to India a couple of times and that’s the benchmark for all Pakistani teams, we understand that. But to suggest that the T20 side is at a low level (isn’t right),” Hesson said.

Pakistan will be led by Sahibzada Farhan at the Asian Games. The 15-man squad includes four players yet to make their T20I debut — Akif Javed, Ali Raza, Maaz Sadaqat and Saad Masood. Farhan, who has scored 383 runs in the 2026 T20 World Cup, is the most experienced batsman in the squad and will captain a team that has a significant number of younger players.

The men’s competition begins on September 24, with the medal matches scheduled for October 3. Defending champion is India, who won gold at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou.

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Issued by:

sabyasachi chowdhury

Published on:

23 Sep 2026 20:50 IST