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T20 World Cup 2026, PAK vs NZ: Speaking to reporters, Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson discussed whether Pakistan holds the upper hand ahead of their Super 8 clash against New Zealand. Historically, Pakistan have defeated the Black Caps in five of their seven encounters in the tournament.
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00:00Good evening, one, two, three.
00:04Hello, assalamu alaikum, and good evening.
00:07Let the cameraman settle first.
00:08Are you okay?
00:10That's pretty fine.
00:17I guess one minute more.
00:20Put a five.
00:22Shall we start?
00:25Yeah.
00:34Good evening, Mike.
00:35Good evening.
00:36Now the tougher stage starts.
00:38How ready is the team,
00:39and what do you think are the areas of improvement?
00:43We've certainly spent the last six months getting to this point,
00:46so the fact we've made the Super 8s is the position we want to find ourselves in.
00:53We've played some pretty good cricket.
00:54I think we've won eight of our last ten games,
00:58and we've had many different players stand up at different times,
01:01so confident with where the group is at.
01:03We didn't play so well out on this surface last time,
01:06so looking forward to putting that right tomorrow,
01:10and I think it's probably just adjusting to the conditions a little bit better
01:13than we did last time here,
01:15but outside of that,
01:16you know,
01:17boys are prepared well.
01:19Coach,
01:19Mark Chapman was here in the afternoon,
01:21and he said,
01:21we have played a lot of cricket with Pakistan in the last few years,
01:24and we know what they're bringing up.
01:26Any compliments for that?
01:27And secondly,
01:27can you please tell us,
01:29Usman Tariq,
01:29is your attacking option or the defensive one?
01:33Oh, look,
01:33I mean,
01:34Mark Chapman has an incredible record against Pakistan,
01:36both in Pakistan and at home for him,
01:39so,
01:41you know,
01:41he's faced a lot of our bowlers,
01:43and he's had some success.
01:45But this pitch will bring some different challenges,
01:47and we'll have some different thoughts around how we might find a way
01:51of trying to subdue him a little bit,
01:52but he's certainly not the only threat.
01:54There's plenty of them.
01:56So,
01:57you know,
01:57we won't be focused just on one,
01:59but your question,
02:00Usman Tariq,
02:01I think he's one of those bowlers around the world that does both.
02:03He's able to attack and defend at the same time.
02:06And,
02:06you know,
02:07that's an incredible skill to have,
02:09so we're very fortunate,
02:11you know,
02:11that he's on our side.
02:14Hi,
02:14Coach.
02:15If we talk about numbers,
02:16Pakistan has edge on New Zealand.
02:19They won five out of seven T20 World Cup matches.
02:22Last time New Zealand beat Pakistan was in 2016.
02:25So,
02:25do you think there's any sort of psychological edge on that numbers?
02:31And if we talk about Pakistan,
02:32Pakistan has climatized in this condition,
02:35and they have come,
02:36just arrived there,
02:37and they didn't have a proper training session there as well.
02:40So,
02:40do you think there's a psychological edge Pakistan has in this match?
02:43I don't think games are won or lost psychologically.
02:46I think they're lost,
02:47they've won through skill.
02:49You know,
02:51New Zealand have played a huge amount in the subcontinent in recent times.
02:55You know,
02:55Sri Lanka tends to spin a little bit sharper than it does in India as a general rule.
03:01And,
03:02you know,
03:02we saw that a little bit at SSC.
03:04We saw that also during the first innings in particular here the other night.
03:09So,
03:11yeah,
03:11I don't believe anyone's got a psychological edge.
03:14Obviously,
03:14I remember the 2016 game.
03:17You know,
03:17I was there at the time.
03:19So,
03:20you know,
03:20I remember that,
03:21and I remember us preparing pretty well against Pakistan who had a lot of different threats.
03:26So,
03:27yeah,
03:27what's happened in the past is in the past.
03:29You know,
03:29we're looking forward to starting the Super 8s well tomorrow.
03:32Hi,
03:33Mike.
03:33Arfa Feroz here.
03:34Mike,
03:35we are failing to understand why Babar Azam is batting at number four.
03:38When we look at the,
03:39you know,
03:40timeline of Babar Azam,
03:42he opened the innings in LPL,
03:43he opened in Big Bash,
03:44he opened for Pakistan when he was captain,
03:47even in BSL.
03:48But why are you making him play at number four?
03:50Because this seems to be a cricketing suicidal for Babar Azam,
03:53making him play at number four in T20s.
03:56Well,
03:56look,
03:56it's what the role the team requires.
03:58And Babar is well aware of that.
04:00I think he's,
04:00he's well aware,
04:01strike rate in the power play in World Cups is less than 100.
04:05So,
04:06in T20s.
04:06So,
04:07clearly,
04:08that's not a role that we think here we need.
04:11We think he's a fine player through the middle if required,
04:15in terms of if we're in a little bit of trouble.
04:17Or,
04:18as we saw against the USA,
04:19once he gets himself set,
04:21he can increase his strike rate at that point.
04:24So,
04:25you know,
04:25we brought Babar back in for a specific role post the Asia Cup.
04:28We wanted some batsmanship through the middle.
04:30And he certainly brings that for us.
04:32And he did,
04:34in many games throughout the last 10.
04:36So,
04:37you know,
04:38the other day we got to the 12th overmark,
04:40and at that point,
04:41Babar Azam is not the best person to come in.
04:42We've got plenty of other options
04:44who can come in and perform that role towards the end.
04:48and Babar's actually the first to acknowledge that.
04:50You know,
04:50he knows that he's got a certain set of skills that the team require,
04:53and there are certain times where other players can perform that role more efficiently.
04:58Hello,
04:58from Creek Week.
05:00It's been almost one year you have joined this team as a head coach,
05:03and Babar has been one of the top-notch players in this stint.
05:07And if we look at the wicket charts,
05:09Babar has been second leading wicket taker in the last 12 months.
05:13But after India's game,
05:14just after one game,
05:15he has been dropped.
05:16Do you think Pakistan is too much relying on the all-rounders,
05:18and it might be risky against top teams?
05:21Look,
05:21I think,
05:23you know,
05:23you're calling them all-rounders,
05:24but Nawaz is one of the best-performing spinners in the world,
05:28in T20 cricket.
05:30You know,
05:30since Shutup's come back,
05:32you know,
05:32his figures have been exceptional.
05:35Syme Obe's already in the side anyway,
05:37and obviously has the ability to bowl the caramble.
05:39So,
05:40there are certain times where,
05:41you know,
05:42and Syme,
05:43sorry,
05:44Salman Aliaga obviously opened the bowl in the other day.
05:46So,
05:47you know,
05:47we have six spin bowlers.
05:48There are times where we don't need that,
05:50that many.
05:52And,
05:53you know,
05:53the fact that
05:55Usman Tariq has been able to bowl the tough overs
05:57through the middle and the end
05:59has been a real advantage for us.
06:02So,
06:02look,
06:02there could well be conditions in this tournament
06:04where we might go spin heavy again,
06:06or even more spin heavy than we already do.
06:09And we know that a bra would be ready if required.
06:12Hi,
06:12Coach.
06:13This side,
06:14this side.
06:14Pratius from Times of India.
06:16Just a question on the middle order.
06:18It's basically one-dimensional.
06:20Too many right-handed batter there,
06:23do you think?
06:24In the Super 8,
06:24will we see Fakhar coming in place of anyone,
06:29be it Barber or someone else in the playing 11?
06:32Do you think?
06:32Because it's pretty one-dimensional.
06:35After Syme,
06:36the other southpaw that in Pakistan playing 11 is,
06:39if I'm not wrong,
06:40Mohamed Nawaz.
06:40Your thoughts on that?
06:41Yeah,
06:42I mean,
06:42we have Nawaz,
06:43we have Fahim as well,
06:44who are both left-handers who can do a role there.
06:47But absolutely,
06:47I mean,
06:48Fakhar's in the squad.
06:49We know that if he's required,
06:51if we end up having to play a lot of left-arm spin
06:54and the ball turns,
06:55that the advantage of that is important.
06:57And we've got that flexibility within the squad.
07:01Hi coach,
07:02Ijaz Ahmed here from Urdu Point.
07:05Are you satisfied with the current approach of our top order,
07:09or especially with the middle order?
07:12Look,
07:12top order has been exceptional in three of the games.
07:18It's,
07:19you know,
07:19we played on a different surface at SSC the other day,
07:22during the day,
07:22and it was actually quite two-paced.
07:24And I thought we absorbed a bit of pressure in that power play well.
07:27If we went too hard too soon,
07:29we could have found ourselves in a little bit of trouble.
07:32I think there was a bit of talk about,
07:33you know,
07:33we needed to attack it a little bit more,
07:35but conditions didn't really allow that.
07:38And then once the seam got softer,
07:39it got easier.
07:40And we saw Agar and then Shadab,
07:43and obviously Sabzada Fahan dominate the last 15 overs.
07:48Coach,
07:49Fakhar and Shaheen still on bench.
07:52Usually we see if any senior player did not perform well,
07:55other senior player replaced because they are waiting on the bench.
07:59So why they both are still on the bench because already Pakistan played
08:02four games?
08:03Look,
08:04we picked the best team to play that particular game for Pakistan.
08:09And,
08:09you know,
08:09we made a call that Salman Mirza was coming in for Shaheen.
08:13And he bowled incredibly well.
08:15To be fair,
08:15he was probably really unlucky to not be playing the second and third games.
08:20You know,
08:20his record since he started playing for Pakistan is exceptional.
08:23And conditions have dictated that we're only playing,
08:26you know,
08:27two seamers.
08:28And often those two seamers are not even bowling their full complement.
08:31So,
08:32and as I've already talked about Fakhar just before.
08:35Hi,
08:36Mike,
08:36this is Usman Khan from Hum News.
08:39Just want to ask,
08:40we haven't seen Nassim Shah bowling in any match.
08:44So do you think,
08:45is it a lack of confidence on him from the team management?
08:50Or do you think tomorrow is the best day to play him because it's an overcast
08:54condition,
08:55then Pakistan should go for the specialist ballers?
08:59Look,
08:59I'm sure you've watched enough games out here to know that spinners have played
09:02a huge role.
09:04And,
09:04you know,
09:05even in the games we played,
09:06you know,
09:06our spin,
09:08we bowled something like 14 overs a spin and we went just over seven and
09:11over.
09:12So,
09:13and we had seamers in our tank who didn't even bowl their full complement.
09:17So,
09:18you know,
09:19even when Shaheen played or even Salman Mirza the other day,
09:21they still didn't bowl their full complement at overs because we didn't need
09:24them.
09:24And that's the luxury of the team.
09:26But we also know that if conditions suggest that we need more seam and
09:30probably more Pala Kelly than here,
09:34then we know that Nassim is bowling incredibly well and we've got,
09:38we've got options,
09:40but we'll pick the best team for the conditions.
09:43Hey Mike,
09:44this is Ramesan from Park Passion.
09:46Want to know about Abraar.
09:48will we see him playing tomorrow game since the pitch is very slow here in
09:52Premadasa?
09:54Also,
09:54regarding the role of Siam Ayub,
09:56he has been struggling with the bat and scored 63 runs in four matches.
09:59Yes,
10:00he's bowling well,
10:00but he's not doing with the bat.
10:02Can we see him going down the order and Barber will open with Farhan?
10:07Like I said,
10:08we've won eight of our 10 games.
10:09You know,
10:10the series before this Siam was the highest run scorer.
10:12So we certainly don't look at one or two games in isolation.
10:18You know,
10:18the first game against,
10:20one of those first two games,
10:22he actually played quite nicely,
10:23got caught at short third,
10:25got a good one from Boomer,
10:26got himself in a poor position.
10:28But we know that Siam Ayub,
10:30if he gets it right,
10:30will take the game away from anyone.
10:33Sure,
10:33he's bowling well.
10:34I mean,
10:34that certainly helps and he's bowling tough overs as well.
10:38So,
10:38yeah,
10:39look,
10:39I wouldn't expect huge changes.
10:41As I said,
10:42we've,
10:42we've built our rankings increase over the last eight months around
10:47consistency and making subtle changes,
10:49but we won't make big changes.
10:52Oh,
10:53look,
10:53Abraar,
10:53I'm not going to tell you what the team is.
10:55I'll tell you that.
10:57Hi,
10:57Mike.
10:58Mike,
10:58as far as the Namibia game was concerned,
11:01I mean,
11:02in terms,
11:02from Pakistan's point of view,
11:04in terms of approach and the thought process,
11:06did we see a paradigm shift in the way Shahin Shah Freeddy was dropped?
11:12The use,
11:13or rather the non-use of Baburism,
11:15was the India game a line in the sand moment?
11:18No,
11:19I wouldn't say that.
11:19I think,
11:20as I said,
11:21Salman Mirza deserved his opportunity.
11:23And,
11:24you know,
11:24Babur was the first to recognize when left arm spin was,
11:26was taking shape and it was turning,
11:29that it wasn't a smart move to send out two right handers.
11:32And then we,
11:33the left arm spinner had finished and Nafay went out to take the game on.
11:37You know,
11:38that's what we needed at that time.
11:39So,
11:40no,
11:40certainly not a paradigm shift,
11:41more about roles.
11:57I've actually got sent that video and you guys have really got that wrong.
12:03So,
12:04I'll talk you through what happened.
12:06So,
12:06I was going over to talk to Salman about and get Nawaz to put the pads on as a left
12:11-hander.
12:11And Aga was upset that he just got out.
12:13So,
12:13he threw the bottle into the ground.
12:15Nothing to do with the conversation we were having.
12:18And then,
12:20obviously,
12:20as I said,
12:21once the left arm spinner finished,
12:22we talked about shut up,
12:24going and getting his pads on to come in to know us.
12:26So,
12:26it was a,
12:27yeah,
12:27it was a really simple conversation that often he wasn't even part of.
12:32He was just standing there being pretty disappointed that he was out.
12:34And it just happened to be in the crossfire.
12:36So,
12:37amazing what,
12:39what people can interpret sometimes.
12:41Thank you so much.
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