Pakistan must ‘catch up’ with India in T20 cricket, says coach Hesson

Pakistan could face India in the knockouts of the Asian Games, where the world champions won gold in 2023.Head coach Mike Hesson has admitted that Pakistan will have some catching up to do if they are to challenge archrivals India at the Asian Games.India’s men have won back-to-back Twenty20 World Cups and are also defending champions at the Asian Games.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Eala and Pathirage headline top athletes to watch at the 2026 Asian Gameslist 2 of 3‘Disgraceful’: Did India bully umpires to win Japan T20 cricket match?list 3 of 3Asian Games: Opening ceremony offers respite amid mounting complaintsend of listSince Hesson took over in May last year, Pakistan have lost to India three times in the Asia Cup 2025 and once in this year’s T20 World Cup.“India are the benchmark in terms of white-ball cricket at the moment, and our challenge is to catch up to that,” said Hesson in Karachi before the team’s departure for Japan.The men’s cricket at the Asian Games in Japan starts on Thursday.Pakistan and India have never met at the games but are likely to face-off in the semifinals on October 1 in Nagoya.“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,” Hesson said of last year’s final in Dubai.Pakistan will first meet the winners of Pool B – comprising Hong Kong, Oman and Malaysia – in the quarterfinal on September 28.Hesson said Pakistan need to start well.“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,” Hesson said.Pakistan have never won a medal in Asian Games cricket, losing the bronze medal match in 2010 and 2023, while they did not compete in 2014.