Pakistan Pitches Not Ideal For 2027 World Cup Preparation? Head Coach Gives Blunt Verdict






Pakistan cricket team coach Mike Hesson has slammed the criticism that spin-friendly pitches in Pakistan will not be ideal for their preparations ahead of the 2027 ODI World Cup. The World Cup will take place in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia – a fact that has led to many fans questioning whether Pakistan should be practicing on faster pitches with more grass cover. Even during the first ODI encounter against Australia, it was spinner Arafat Minhas who ended up taking a five-wicket haul. However, Hesson dismissed such talks and said that spin will play a huge factor in venues at Zimbabwe and Namibia.

“I’ve been hearing a bit of chatter about the pitches here in Pakistan not being the ideal preparation for the World Cup in South Africa. It’s actually a topic I talked about on the latest #PCB podcast. Firstly the World Cup is jointly hosted in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. Zimbabwe and Namibia have venues where spin is a big factor and we will be playing matches in those countries. The myth of all pitches in South Africa being quick and bouncy are just not true, there are definitely some which are but they also vary throughout the country. Those that remember the last ODI series Pakistan played in SA which included Paarl where spin dictated the outcome of the match. Rest assured we have competed significant research and will be using the next 18 months to prepare for a variety of conditions,” he posted on X (formerly known as Twitter).

Earlier. Arafat Minhas made history, becoming the first-ever bowler from his team to take a five-wicket haul on ODI debut.

Minhas achieved this milestone during his side’s first ODI match against Australia at Rawalpindi, taking 5/32 in 10 overs to wrap up Australia for a sub-par score.

Before this, Zakir Hussain (4/19 against New Zealand at Peshawar in 1984), held the best figures for Pakistan on ODI debut.

Coming to the match, Pakistan won the toss and elected to field first, reducing Australia to 68/4, with Matthew Short (55 in 61 balls, with six fours) and Matt Renshaw (61 in 63 balls, with five fours and a six) putting on a 55-run stand for the fifth wicket to stage a fight-back.

Matthew Kuhnemann (24 in 40 balls, with two fours) contributed valuable runs from the bottom as Australia could make just 200 in 44.1 overs, with Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf getting one wicket each, and Abrar Ahmed also getting two.

The chase of 201 runs was driven by fifties from Babar Azam (69 in 94 balls, with four boundaries and a six) and Ghazi Ghori (65 in 92 balls, with eight overs) as Pakistan chased the target with 45 balls and five wickets in hand.

On Tuesday, the second ODI of the three-match series will be held at Lahore.

(With ANI inputs)


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