Mike Hesson Backs Opportunities for Pakistan’s Emerging Players After T20 World Cup 2026

Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson is backing young players to make a mark in international cricket. He believes many new faces have earned the right for selection, as their performances in recent matches have been remarkable.

Talking about the team selected for the Pakistan vs Bangladesh ODI series, Mike Hesson said that it is an exciting group that is eager to deliver strong performances in the upcoming matches.

"It is an exciting group. We have got some fresh faces that have done well in the Shaheens. They have earned the right to get some opportunities at the next level. We are excited as a group to involve them. I think our challenge over here is adapting to the pitch quickly. Regardless of what's thrown at us, we have got to make sure we have got a team ready to challenge Bangladesh in their own conditions.” said Pakistan head coach, Mike Hesson.

Hesson then recalled the performances of the green shirts in the last two series, saying the team won both of them convincingly by playing strong cricket.

"Our last two one-day series have been exceptional. We have won both of those very convincingly. We played some good, solid cricket. We got runs at the top of the order, which always help. This series will be a challenge for some new players to do the same thing." said Mike Hesson.

He then answered the question of omitting some star players, saying they are not being dropped, but the team management has tried to give opportunities to some young players who have performed well domestically.

"I don't think anyone particularly was dropped. I think it's a great opportunity for us to look at some younger talent. We get very few opportunities in the calendar to give a number of promising players opportunities.” said Mike Hesson.

“You are either heading into a pinnacle or just leading into it. So it depends how many players debut here. There's a lot of players that have been around the circuit for a while and been waiting for this opportunity.” added Mike Hesson.