Mike Hesson exposes Pakistan’s secret 72-hour plan built around Abhishek Sharma

Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson made a massive revelation on Pakistan's planning and plotting to dismiss one of India's most explosive batters, Abhishek Sharma. Despite the long planning and Abhishek's early dismissal, Pakistan's hopes for a win were cut well short by Ishan Kishan and the Indian bowlers.

Pakistan's T20 World Cup campaign has been thrown into uncertainty by the Indian opposition after their crushing defeat in the ICC T20 World Cup group-stage game. India defeated Pakistan for the eighth time in the history of the ICC T20 World Cup.

Nothing went as planned between India and Pakistan, as Pakistan would have planned for the likes of Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya, but they never saw that one coming from Ishan Kishan. On the other hand, keeping aside the spinners, Indian pacers did a remarkable job for them.

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Salman Agha dismissed Abhishek Sharma in a surprise powerplay step-up

Pakistan skipper Salman Agha opted to bat first and had an unconventional plan against the seasoned opener Abhishek Sharma. The captain himself stepped up with the new ball in the second over of the game and landed one smartly around the off-stump.

Abhishek Sharma is facilitated by pace on the ball, and hence, spinners often find this to their advantage against the batter as they take the pace off the ball. The off-spinner facilitated starting his spell, and Sharma, in his traditional fashion, tried to pull the ball, and it was miscued to Shaheen Shah Afridi at mid-on.

Abhishek was dismissed without scoring after having faced 4 balls, and this was the greatest early advantage for Pakistan. However, they did not see the exceptional innings coming from the fellow opener Ishan Kishan.

Mike Hesson reveals a massive plan against Abhishek Sharma

Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson revealed that they were intimidated by the Indian opener Abhishek Sharma, who scored runs against them in the Asia Cup encounters. Hence, they have been planning for his dismissal for a long time.

Abhishek Sharma did not play in India's last game against Namibia due to illness and returned only to feature in the Pakistan game. However, his form in the shortest format of the game could make him the biggest threat to any opposition.

"Pakistan was planning for Abhishek Sharma's dismissal for three days," said coach Mike Hesson.

Pakistan was planning for Abhishek Sharma’s dismissal for three days, says coach Mike Hesson. #INDvsPAK #T20WorldCup2026

— Pratyush Raj (@pratyush93_raj) February 15, 2026

Ishan Kishan's swashbuckling T20 form leads to a major shock for Pakistan

Ishan Kishan, the left-handed opener, made a comeback to the Indian T20I side following his stunning domestic form. Kishan has played significantly, as he scored a century and several half-centuries in the New Zealand series.

Until Kishan was on the crease, he played a very fluent innings. His 77 runs came off just 40 deliveries, as he struck with a strike rate of 192.50 before being dismissed off Saim Ayub's bowling.

Ishan Kishan is currently the second-highest run-getter in the format. He has amassed 158 runs in three games and averages 52.67, with two half-centuries in the tournament.

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