MIRPUR: White-ball head coach Mike Hesson is confident of Pakistan’s new-look ODI squad, backing several emerging players to make an impact in the upcoming series against the Bangladesh national cricket team.
There are six uncapped players in the squad, which Hessen described as a wonderful mix of experienced campaigners and promising young talent.
Left-arm fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi will continue to captain the ODI side, while Abdul Samad, Mas Sadaq, Muhammad Qazi Ghori, Saad Masood, Sahibzada Farhan and Shamil Hussain are new to the squad.
Among them, Samad, Sadaq, Masood and Shamil were part of the Pakistan Shaheens team that faced England Lions in Abu Dhabi recently.
Notably, star batsman Babar Azam, Faqar Zaman (hamstring injury), Haseebullah, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah and Saeem Ayub were absent from the squad.
Ahead of the team’s first training session in Dhaka, he said the management is keen to test the newcomers in challenging sub-continental conditions.
“It’s an amazing group,” Hessen said. “We have some new faces who are doing well in the Shaheens. They have earned the right to get some opportunities at the next level. We are excited as a team to engage them. I think our challenge here is to adapt to the pitch quickly. Whatever is thrown at us, we have to make sure we have a team that can challenge Bangladesh in their own conditions.
Hesson also pointed to Pakistan’s recent ODI win, noting that the team had performed strongly in their previous two ODI series.
“Our last two one-day series have been exceptional. We’ve won both very convincingly. We’ve played some good, solid cricket. We’ve got runs at the top of the order, which always helps. This series will be challenging for some new players,” he said.
Reflecting on the playing conditions at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Hesson noted that the surface looks improved compared to previous tours.
“Without a doubt, it certainly looks like a much better pitch and better coverage than it was,” Hessen said. “Unfortunately, I think the pitches here haven’t been good for a while. But I think we’ve seen that even in the PBL the pitches here have been very good.
“It looks like there’s a lot more turf and a real matchup between bat and ball. I think both sides will benefit from that. You know both sides want to play on good cricket wickets and be challenged. So it’s definitely looking at that at this stage,” he concluded.