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Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson has criticised the pitch at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur, calling it “unacceptable” for international cricket after his side was bowled out for just 110 in the first T20I against Bangladesh.
While Hesson admitted that Pakistan’s batters had misread the conditions, he emphasised that the pitch did not meet the standards expected for international play.
“It is not ideal for anybody,” he said.
“Teams are preparing for the Asia Cup and the T20 World Cup, and this pitch is simply not acceptable,” Hesson continued.
Pakistan’s collapse was swift, with the team slipping to 46 for 5 by the eighth over. Many of the batters fell while attempting high-risk shots, and Pakistan’s cause was further hindered by three run-outs.
Despite a bright start from Fakhar Zaman, who top-scored with 44 off 34 balls, Pakistan were eventually bowled out in 19.3 overs.
Hesson reflected on the team’s struggles: “Fakhar Zaman played a few good shots, which gave us a false impression of how the surface was playing. We didn’t adjust well in the middle overs and made poor decisions. As the ball started to bounce and nip through, we didn’t recognise the increased difficulty of playing high-risk shots. The run-outs didn’t help either,” Hesson said.
However, Bangladesh’s opener, Parvez Hossain Emon, disagreed with Hesson’s assessment, pointing to his team’s dominant seven-wicket victory.
“We didn’t feel it was a bad pitch, as we chased the target down in less than 16 overs,” Emon said.
“We could have scored 150-160 runs if we batted the full 20 overs. It may be that Pakistan couldn’t adjust to the pitch as well as we did. We adapted quickly, which was part of our strategy,” Emon added.
Hesson, though, felt such surfaces would not aid Bangladesh’s preparations for tougher conditions abroad.
“Good cricket wickets are needed to develop cricketers,” he said.
“While there were better wickets in the BPL, this pitch doesn’t meet the standard required for international cricket. It’s challenging to bat first when you’re unsure of what score is good enough,” he added.
Despite the pitch’s challenges, Hesson acknowledged that his team still needed to perform better, regardless of the surface.
“We’ll look at it as a team,” he concluded.
