Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson has acknowledged that his team has ground to make up on India in white-ball cricket as the two archrivals prepare for the Asian Games in Japan.
India enter the men’s cricket competition as the defending Asian Games champions and arrive after winning consecutive T20 World Cups. Pakistan, meanwhile, will be looking to make a strong start in Japan as they target their first Asian Games cricket medal.
“India are the benchmark in terms of white-ball cricket at the moment, and our challenge is to catch up to that,” Hesson said in Karachi before Pakistan’s departure for Japan.
Since Hesson took charge in May last year, Pakistan have faced India four times, losing three matches during the 2025 Asia Cup and another during this year’s T20 World Cup.
The two teams have never met in Asian Games cricket. However, they could face each other in the semifinals on October 1 in Nagoya if both progress through the knockout stages.
Hesson said Pakistan would be ready for the challenge should the much-anticipated clash materialise.
“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, referring to Pakistan’s encounter with India in last year’s Asia Cup final in Dubai.
Pakistan Begin Asian Games Campaign on September 28
Pakistan will first take on the winner of Pool B, which features Hong Kong, Oman and Malaysia, in the quarterfinal on September 28.
Hesson stressed that Pakistan cannot afford to look too far ahead and must concentrate on getting through the opening stages.
“There is a lot of cricket to be played between now and being able to play in the semifinal for both sides, so we are not getting too far ahead of ourselves,” he said.
Pakistan will also be aiming to end a disappointing Asian Games record in cricket. The team has never won a medal in the competition, finishing fourth after losing the bronze-medal match in both 2010 and 2023. Pakistan did not participate in the 2014 Asian Games.
With India among the leading teams in the tournament, a potential semifinal between the traditional rivals could become one of the most anticipated fixtures of the Asian Games cricket competition.
