Hesson’s Coaching Philosophy for Pakistan White-Ball Cricket
Pakistan’s new white-ball coach Mike Hesson has made it clear he is focused on building a team of multi-skilled cricketers, rather than relying on specialist batters, which he calls “outdated” in modern T20 cricket. In a recent PCB official interview, Hesson emphasized the need for tactical flexibility, saying,
“𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒎𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒊-𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅. 𝑨 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒕 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒕 6-8 𝒃𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔.”
The approach was visible in Pakistan’s 3-0 T20I series win against Bangladesh, where the team used up to eight bowlers, reflecting the kind of fearless cricket approach Mike wants.
Rebuilding Team Culture and Fitness Standards
Emphasis on Fielding and Accountability
Drawing inspiration from the Mickey Arthur era (2016–2018), Hesson stressed reviving strict fitness standards in Pakistan cricket, particularly fielding in white-ball cricket. “There’s no room for players who can’t contribute in the field,” he said, echoing past efforts by Steve Rixon that once made Pakistan a world-class fielding side.
Hesson’s coaching philosophy includes direct communication with players left out of the squad, including the likes of Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, and Mohammad Rizwan. He clarified: “The door is not shut on anybody.”
Culture Over Milestones
Team-First Mentality
In what appeared to be a message to current and aspiring players, Hesson stated:
“𝑰𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖’𝒓𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒔 14 𝒂𝒏 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓, 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕’𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒑𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆. 𝑾𝒆’𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒘𝒊𝒏, 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒔.”
As he aims to implement long-term change, Mike highlighted that results may not be instant, but alignment with the NCA, selectors, and senior players is crucial. He concluded,
“𝑾𝒉𝒊𝒕𝒆-𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝑷𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏 𝒊𝒔 𝒆𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒆’𝒓𝒆 𝒃𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒂𝒄𝒍𝒆 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅.”
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