LAHORE: Pakistan’s white-ball head coach, Mike Hesson, has outlined the key areas his side must improve in ODIs ahead of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2027, to be co-hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia.
The admission comes after Pakistan’s Super Eights exit from the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 in India and Sri Lanka, Hesson’s first major tournament with the team. Since then, the Green Shirts have played just one ODI series: an away assignment against Bangladesh in March.
Pakistan white-ball head coach Mike Hesson shares his thoughts on expanding the player pool and preparations for ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2027 in the latest 𝐏𝐂𝐁 𝐏𝐨𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭 🎙️
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Pakistan are now scheduled to host Australia for a three-match ODI series from May 30 to June 4 as part of their World Cup build-up.
However, according to the Future Tours Programme (FTP), Pakistan will only feature in one more ODI tri-series (against England and Sri Lanka) later this year after the Australia assignment. Despite the sparse schedule, Hesson confirmed he has identified specific areas requiring urgent attention.
Bowling: Powerplay wickets a must
The head coach stressed that Pakistan must take wickets consistently during powerplays and find bowlers capable of doing so.
“Look, I think our one-day side is a side we haven’t really played a lot in the last 12 months, but what we have done is expose some key areas,” Hesson said on the PCB Podcast. “From a bowling perspective, we’ve got to bowl far tighter lines and be more consistent with the ball, especially in the powerplay. We’ve really struggled to take wickets in the powerplay in ODI cricket. Through the middle overs, it’s about being really disciplined with the ball in all conditions.”
Batting: Need for middle-over efficiency
In the batting department, Hesson praised all-rounder Salman Ali Agha’s brilliance in the middle overs but called for greater efficiency to ease pressure on finishers.
“From a batting point of view, the middle overs we have to be more efficient. We often leave too much to do at the end of the innings because we’re a little bit passive through the middle overs,” Hesson added.
“We need to find batters through those middle overs. Salman Ali Agha has been exceptional, averaging close to 50 in ODI cricket, but we need to give some support around that. We need to be far busier in those middle overs than we have been, and that’ll make life easier for the finishers.”
