LAHORE: Pakistan white-ball head coach Mike Hesson has insisted that it is unrealistic to expect a team with a 20 per cent win rate to suddenly become ICC champions, adding that sustained success requires steady improvement over time.

speaks Jio NewsHesson reflected on the team’s progress since taking charge, admitting that Pakistan had previously struggled to win series at home and abroad.

“When you’ve got a team that’s only winning 20 percent of their matches, that’s a big challenge,” he said. “Our first objective was to create consistency in both performances and results, and we have achieved that. We are winning more series now than ever before. Our win rate has gone up from 20 percent to around 70 percent.”

He emphasized that no team can realistically expect to win ICC tournaments with a 20 per cent win rate. Hessen pointed out that Pakistan failed to progress beyond the first round of ICC events in 2023, 2024 and 2025, but reached the Super Eight stage in 2026.

“We lost one match to England and the other one was washed out by the rain. In ICC tournaments you have to keep competing and stay competitive,” he said.

Despite only entering the tournament as the fourth or fifth choice, Hesson epitomized Pakistan’s run to the Asia Cup final.

“We have made significant progress from where we were before and there is still a lot of work to do. We have to keep winning because you cannot become world champions with a mere 23 percent win rate. We still have time before the next ICC event and we have improved in many key areas,” he added.

The New Zealand player also welcomed the board’s newly introduced track-based central contract system, arguing that the traditional central contract covering all three formats is no longer in practice in modern cricket.

The PCB recently replaced its long-standing category-based contract model with a five-track system that groups players by design expertise rather than putting everyone on the same grading system.

The new structure includes Track AB for dual-format Test and ODI players, Track A for Test specialists, Track BC for ODI and T20I specialists, Track C for T20 and franchise specialists and Track D for developing players.

Cricket boards now need to structure contracts around the demands of the modern game, Hessen said, allowing players to focus on formats best suited to their abilities.

According to Hessen, T20 professionals should prioritize franchise cricket to sharpen their white-ball skills, while players aiming for success in Test cricket should focus on first-class cricket instead of trying to excel in all formats.

He said the revised contract framework would encourage greater specialization, ensure players are judged against others competing in the same formats and help boost their potential in international cricket.

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