Pakistan coach Mike Hesson was blunt following his team’s poor showing in the first T20I against Bangladesh. (Also read: Bangladesh Beats Pakistan by Seven Wickets in First T20I in Dhaka)
He blamed the “unacceptable” pitch in Mirpur for Pakistan’s shocking collapse to just 110 runs.
“It is still no excuse for some of the decisions we made with the bat,” he said. “But this pitch is not up to international standards.”
Pakistan’s innings never really got going. By the eighth over, they were reduced to 46 for 5. Several batters fell attempting aggressive shots, and three run-outs only added to their problems. The team was eventually dismissed in 19.3 overs.
“We got off to a little bit of a flyer,” Hesson said, referring to Fakhar Zaman’s early boundaries. “It gave us a false indication about how the surface was playing.”
The bounce, he added, became unpredictable. “When the ball started to nip through, and bounced steeply, we probably didn’t assess that it was a bit more challenging to play high-risk shots.”
Despite Pakistan’s struggles, Bangladesh opener Parvez Hossain Emon offered a different perspective.
“We didn’t feel it was a bad pitch,” Emon said after Bangladesh chased down the target in 15.3 overs. “We could have scored 150-160 if we batted the full 20 overs. Maybe they couldn’t adjust. We adjusted better.”
He added that assessing the wicket early was a key part of Bangladesh’s strategy. “The Dhaka pitch usually benefits the bowlers. That’s not new. We just tried to read it early and stick to our plans.”
Hesson remained firm in his view that pitches like this do little to help any team prepare for major tournaments such as the Asia Cup or the T20 World Cup.
“You need good cricket wickets to develop cricketers,” he said. “There were some good wickets during the BPL, to be fair. But this one didn’t meet the mark for international play.”
He also questioned the benefits for Bangladesh. “I don’t think it helps them when they leave Bangladesh,” Hesson said. “When you’re unsure whether 100 or 150 is good enough, it becomes hard to plan. That’s not good for anybody.”
Despite the criticism, Hesson accepted that Pakistan’s shot selection and decision-making were lacking. “We will look at it as a team,” he said. “You still have to perform better regardless of conditions.”
The debate over pitch quality at Mirpur isn’t new, but this latest match has brought it back into the spotlight, with starkly different takes from both sides.
