Mike Hesson Slams Dhaka Pitch After Pakistan’s Collapse in 1st T20I Against Bangladesh
Pakistan’s white-ball head coach Mike Hesson has raised serious concerns over the quality of the pitch at Shere Bangla National Stadium following his side’s defeat in the first T20I against Bangladesh. After being skittled out for a paltry 110 in 19.3 overs, Hesson called the surface “unacceptable” for international cricket.
Speaking to the media after the match, Hesson didn’t mince his words. “I think the pitch is not ideal for anybody. Teams are trying to prepare for the Asia Cup or the T20 World Cup. It is not acceptable. It is still no excuse for some of the decisions we made with the bat. But this pitch is not up to international standards,” he remarked.
Pakistan’s innings unraveled quickly, with the side stumbling to 46/5 within eight overs. While Fakhar Zaman’s aggressive start hinted at a more batting-friendly surface, the collapse that followed painted a different picture. Hesson admitted that the team misread the conditions. “We got off to a little bit of a flyer with Fakhar playing a few aggressive shots, which gave us a false indication of how the pitch was behaving,” he said.
The innings further suffered from poor shot selection and a trio of run-outs that halted any hopes of a recovery. “We didn’t help ourselves in the middle overs. When the ball started to nip through and bounce steeply, we failed to assess the risk,” Hesson explained.
In contrast, Bangladesh chased down the modest target in just 15.5 overs, with opener Parvez Hossain Emon scoring a composed half-century. Responding to Hesson’s criticism, Emon disagreed with the notion that the pitch was poor. “We didn’t feel it was a bad pitch. We could have scored 150-160 had we batted the full 20 overs. It may be that they couldn’t adjust to the pitch. We assessed it better,” he said.
Despite the loss, Hesson stood by his assessment. “You need good cricket wickets to develop cricketers. There were some good wickets during the BPL, to be fair. But this wasn’t up to standard for international cricket,” he emphasized.
He added that pitches like these don’t help teams in long-term development or in preparing for tougher away assignments. “I don’t think it helps them when they leave Bangladesh either. Batting first on such surfaces is always a challenge because you’re unsure if 100, 130, or 150 is a good total,” Hesson stated.
With Bangladesh now leading the three-match series 1-0, the spotlight will remain on the pitch when both sides face off again at the same venue on Tuesday.
