With the 2026 T20 World Cup looming just eight months away, a revamped Pakistan side under the leadership of new head coach Mike Hesson is set to host a youthful Bangladesh team in a three-match Twenty20 international series beginning Wednesday in Lahore.
Pakistan, the 2009 world champions, are looking to rebuild after a dismal 12 months that saw them crash out in the first round of the 2024 World Cup. They have managed just three wins in their last 13 T20Is—two of those against Zimbabwe—and have dropped to eighth in the ICC T20I rankings.
In a clear signal of change, Pakistan have left out star batsmen Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, as well as pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi. Salman Agha will lead the side, which recently suffered a 4-1 series defeat in New Zealand.
“We’ve been really clear around the style of play we want and then it’s about picking players that can do that,” said Hesson, who previously coached New Zealand from 2012 to 2018. “We’ve got a good number of T20Is between now and the World Cup. We will develop a depth of squad playing the way we want, and the rankings will come in time because it is about the way we want to play.”
Bangladesh, currently ranked ninth, find themselves in a similar rebuilding phase. The team has only won four of their last 12 T20Is and recently lost series to the United States and the United Arab Emirates.
They too are under new guidance, with West Indian Phil Simmons taking over as head coach in October. The squad is missing several veterans, including Tamim Iqbal, Shakib Al Hasan, Mohammad Mahmudullah and Mushfiqur Rahim, who are either retired or not playing T20Is.
“We’re aiming to improve our cricket by performing well in this series,” said Simmons.
Bangladesh will also be without frontline fast bowlers Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman due to injury, while rising pace star Nahid Rana withdrew from the tour over security concerns linked to the recent cross-border conflict between India and Pakistan.
That conflict initially cast doubt over the tour, resulting in a shortened three-match series instead of the originally scheduled five. The remaining matches will be played on Friday and Sunday, also in Lahore.