Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson admitted on Wednesday that his team has some catching up to do if they are to challenge arch-rivals India at the Asian Games.
India's men have won back-to-back World Cups and are also defending champions at the Asian Games.
Since Hesson took over in May last year Pakistan lost to India three times in the Asia Cup 2025 and once in this year's Twenty20 World Cup.
"India are the benchmark in terms of white ball cricket at the moment and our challenge is to catch up to that," said Hesson in Karachi ahead of the team's departure.
The men's cricket at the Asian Games in Japan starts on Thursday.
Pakistan and India have never met at the Games but are likely to face off in the semifinals on 1 October in Nagoya.
"We are certainly preparing as best we can and if we get an opportunity to play (India) we will certainly put them under pressure like we did in the final of the Asia Cup," Hesson said of last year's final in Dubai.
Pakistan will first meet the winners of Pool B – comprising Hong Kong, Oman and Malaysia – in the quarterfinal on 28 September.
Hesson said Pakistan need to start well.
"There is a lot of cricket to be played between now and being able to play in the semifinal for both sides (Pakistan and India), so we are not getting too far ahead of ourselves," Hesson said.
Pakistan have never won a medal in the Asian Games cricket, losing the bronze medal match in 2010 and 2023 while they did not compete in 2014.
While India has sent a full-strength team for the Asian Games, Pakistan's side is a combination of youth and experience, captained by opener Sahibzada Farhan.