Pakistan’s cricket board is toying with the idea of parking a small group of players in the United States for roughly four months, aiming to freshen up both power-hitting and general conditioning. Nothing is signed off, no airline tickets booked, yet white-ball head coach Mike Hesson says the wheels are in motion.
“We’re sending some players to the US,” Hesson tells Cricinfo. “There’s some power-hitting expertise over there, and we’re exploring some options. We’ve got some players who’ve had some longer-term injuries, and players we want to expose to different methods of power hitting and just a different learning environment, spending four months in one place to get some new fresh ideas.”
Key facts first
• Plan still at feasibility stage – budgets, schedules and personnel to be confirmed.
• Stint would last around four months at a single US base.
• Focus extends beyond gym work; batting technique and recovery methods also under review.
• Under-19 quick Ali Raza among names discussed, though selection remains open.
Why the US?
Power-hitting coaches in places such as Florida and Houston have built reputations for short, intensive batting programmes – think biomechanical feedback, bowling machines cranked up, boundary-rope targets. Pakistan’s set-up has those tools too, but the board believes a change of scenery can spark different habits.
Internal overhaul already under way
Earlier this year the PCB hired UK-based physiotherapist Dr Javed Mughal as Director Sports and Exercise Medicine. At his unveiling he called fitness a “non-negotiable” and outlined a “robust, reliable and repeatable testing and screening battery we had started to apply to all players.” Hesson links the potential US trip to that broader shift.
“There’s a bit of a collaboration. It’s certainly not just strength and conditioning,” Hesson says. “We’ve got Javed Mughal who’s come in here and changing the way players are training and assessing them in a different way. So he needs time to plan it out as well.”
Who might travel?
Ali Raza, 18, has been mentioned most often. The left-arm quick took 4-42 in last year’s Under-19 Asia Cup final versus India and claimed a hat-trick for Peshawar Zalmi in the PSL. Pakistan want him fit, fast and durable before an expected senior debut.
“Pace bowling wise, there’s no more injuries [within Pakistan] than there are anywhere else in the world,” Hesson says. “We’re trying to get Ali Raza fit and strong enough to deal with the demands of international cricket. It’s tough trying to be able to bowl multiple spells and sustain his pace. We know when he’s at his top end pace, he’s exciting. But when the pressure ramps up, the pressures on the body ramp up. So he’s got to work on his body so he can deal with those.”
Broader picture
Pakistan’s National Cricket Academy in Lahore is being refitted, and coaches are reluctant to lock every player into one way of working. A four-month American block would offer a fresh diet of ideas before the domestic season cranks up again.
Hesson, unsurprisingly, welcomes the open-minded approach: “I think it’s good that we’re looking at exploring those [options of sending players to the US], rather than saying ‘no, you have to stay here’.”
Whether the idea survives the next round of budget meetings remains to be seen, but the intention is clear: widen horizons, modernise methods, and quietly close the gap on better-resourced rivals – without, PCB insiders stress, chasing gimmicks for the sake of them.
