Mike Hesson accused of taking “free ke paise” after Pakistan’s tactical blunders in T20 World Cup 2026

Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson has been under scrutiny after their loss against India. Despite qualifying for the Super 8s, the Men in Green side got completely outplayed against their arch-rivals as they got a 61-run defeat last Sunday. The mediocrity of the team has still not been solved, as they nearly got stuck in the very first game, against the Netherlands.

Ahead of the Super 8 clash between Pakistan and New Zealand, former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif has criticised Mike Hesson for his poor coaching style and tactics. He slammed the New Zealand head coach for his decision to field first after winning the toss in a high-stakes game against India.

Mohammad Kaif calls Mike Hesson into question

Mike Hesson was named as the head coach of Pakistan back in May 2025. He had the prior experience of coaching the New Zealand team and the IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), and as soon as he was appointed, he removed Mohammad Rizwan from the T20I side.

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While speaking on his YouTube channel, Kaif said, "Leave Salman Ali Agha, what is Hesson doing? Mike Hesson has coached in the IPL, he coaches everywhere, what is he telling them, to field first against India? Free ke paise le raha hai kya bhai? (Are you taking money for the sake of it?)

"I can understand that it is the first World Cup for Agha and all that, he can be in doubt. But doesn't Hesson know what he is supposed to do on that slow pitch?"

"You brought Abrar in the powerplay, he got hit, and then you dropped him. It was you who took the wrong call, the spinner was supposed to come after the powerplay. There was so much build-up with Usman Tariq's action and all that, and you brought him on as the seventh bowler."

Mike Hesson's spin-to-win theory failed

The Men in Green used 18 overs of spin; Salman Ali Agha’s trick to bowl the first over worked as they got rid of Abhishek Sharma early. However, the rest of the spinners, except Usman Tariq, were smashed all around the park. India posted a total of 175 runs on a wicket that was gripping and spinning.

Mohammad Kaif condemned the tactics used by foreign coaches. He slammed them for experimenting too much and putting on a show to complicate things. He also highlighted Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni as instances of players who relied on match instincts rather than a pre-planned strategy given by coaches behind the scenes.

'The foreign coaches have been completely exposed'- Mohammad Kaif

Kaif said, "The foreign coaches have been completely exposed. They just write notes and pass them along. They write which bowler will bowl what over and all that, but T20 does not work like that, boss."

"In T20, the game changes every over. In MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma's time as captain, sure, there are meetings with coaches, but they have never taken the coach's words into the ground. They make plans, like Plan A, Plan B, Plan C, and Plan D. There is nothing fixed. You don't win matches with notes."

Mohammed Kaif finally concluded, saying, "These foreign coaches enjoy their big fancy laptops, and sending long emails to their bosses. You cannot win a World Cup with notes. Rohit Sharma is not a notes person, and MS Dhoni used to say there is no meeting, just come to the match, I'll take the calls."

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