Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson has openly acknowledged India’s current edge in white-ball cricket, saying his team was beaten by a better side in their recent Asia Cup encounters.
Speaking to reporters ahead of Pakistan’s departure for the 2026 Asian Games, Hesson said India are currently the benchmark in white-ball cricket and that Pakistan’s challenge is to close the gap.
“India are the benchmark in terms of white-ball cricket at the moment, and our challenge is to catch up to that,” Hesson said.
Hesson also reflected on Pakistan’s run in the previous Asia Cup. He pointed out that Pakistan won every game except against India, reached the final and eventually lost to India.
“They were better than us,” Hesson said while discussing the Asia Cup defeat.
At the same time, Hesson defended Pakistan’s overall progress in T20 cricket. He said the team’s performance over the previous 15 months should not be judged across all three formats together, noting that Pakistan had improved its T20I ranking and won several series.
Hesson acknowledged that defeats against India remain a major talking point among Pakistani fans, but stressed that Pakistan’s development needs to be assessed separately across Tests, ODIs and T20Is.
The two teams could potentially meet at the Asian Games in Japan, but only later in the tournament. India and Pakistan are in opposite halves of the draw, meaning a meeting is possible in the gold-medal match or bronze-medal playoff if both teams progress that far.
Pakistan begin their Asian Games campaign on September 28, while India also enter the competition at the quarter-final stage.
