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Mike Hesson had barely settled into his pre-Asia Cup media call when a reporter asked where he found the “courage” to point out Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam’s limitations. The Pakistan head coach blinked, asked for the question again – a touch more politely – and then took a breath.
“Being honest about your assessment of players is pretty important,” Hesson replied. “Coming from a place where you have no agenda is also very important. Looking at things objectively is important. I haven’t talked about anyone’s frailties.
“What I have alluded to is the way the modern game is played and the strike rates required, particularly in good conditions. All players ask for from coaches is to be honest with them. That is the responsibility you’ve got. Just because you like a player or have a relationship with a player, it doesn’t mean you can’t be honest.”
That, in essence, was his defence. No dig at personalities, simply a reminder that modern white-ball cricket demands scoring rates that never stand still for long.
Batting balance and lower-order questions
With that topic dealt with, attention turned to Pakistan’s batting shape as they open against Oman on Friday. Reporters wondered if Mohammad Haris really is the late-innings answer, why Saim Ayub and Sahibzada Farhan blow hot and cold, and why Mohammad Nawaz’s returns have dipped.
“It is very much a developing batting line-up,” Hesson conceded. “There are a number of batters who can win you the game on their day, but they don’t have as many good days as you’d like at the moment. That is very fair. The thing for us is the sum of the parts as a batting group.”
He pointed out that on most Sharjah surfaces during the recent tri-series, Pakistan had posted totals 20 runs above par. “Every game bar one in Sharjah, we were probably 20 runs above par,” he said. “In the tri-series final, we got 140 when 120 was plenty on the pitch.”
Spin worries? Not so much
Speculation that Pakistan’s batters struggle against wrist-spin – with Varun Chakravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav looming in Sunday’s India clash – drew a sharp response.
“I don’t know where that has come from,” Hesson said. “We have played against Rashid [Khan] and Noor [Ahmed]. We have played against possibly the best wrist-spin attack in the world [in the tri-series final on Sunday] on a [Sharjah] surface that has spun square and managed to score 75 more runs than the opposition. I’m not sure where that has come from.”
The numbers do back him up. Pakistan scored at 8.5 an over against Afghanistan’s spinners last week; only two wickets fell to slow bowling. Still, Chakravarthy’s mystery spin and Kuldeep’s left-arm angles in Dubai are a sterner test, one Pakistan have historically met with mixed success.
India v Pakistan – the wider theatre
Finally, inevitably, the room moved on to Hesson’s first taste of coaching in an India-Pakistan fixture. He tried to play the moment down but didn’t hide the sense of occasion.
“Look I’ve certainly watched many games from afar with other teams or while commentating,” he said. “Being part of a highly-charged event is going to be exciting. From my perspective, just like anytime you enter the final of a world event or whatever, it is about keeping everybody focused on the job at hand. That will be no different.
“We know India are obviously hugely confident and rightfully so. But we are very much focused on improving as a team day-by-day and not getting ahead of ourselves. We are well aware of the challenge of the task ahead and we are cer—”
His answer drifted off as another question arrived, a reminder that press conferences can be as frenetic as a powerplay. What was clear, though, is that Hesson’s approach remains grounded: say what needs to be said, back it up with evidence, and keep working on the collective. Honesty, he insists, is not criticism; it is currency in a dressing-room built on trust.
