Mike Hesson Believes Nahid Rana Exposed Pakistan’s Batting Weakness in 1st ODI

Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson was disappointed with the batting performance of the team, saying they were exposed badly by the Bangladesh bowling attack, especially against the pace of Nahid Rana. He believes the Pakistan team went into a shell after losing quick wickets, something that has remained a long-standing problem for them in the last few years.

"It's a pretty disappointing batting performance. I don't think there's any shying away from that. It wasn't just the youngsters, we were exposed against some good bowling and we went into our shell a little bit, and we have to turn things around really quickly." said Mike Hesson after the end of the first ODI between Pakistan vs Bangladesh at Dhaka.

He especially credited Nahid Rana, saying that his introduction to the attack made things difficult for Pakistan, as he bowled with different variations to showcase his talent.

"The wicket was fine. It played pretty well. Nahid Rana was exceptional. Until he came into the game, we were ticking along okay, and he changed the game. He bowled into the wicket, created some variation and bounce, which he's allowed to do when he's bowling at that pace. And we didn't respond as well as we needed to. So all credit to him." said Mike Hesson.

When asked whether the decision to select youngsters was correct, Hesson replied that these players need to learn by playing on the big stage, so giving them opportunities is certainly the right call.

"Youngsters have got to learn. You've got to give them opportunities to learn and grow. We would love them to run out and score a hundred on debut but they have to go through some tough challenges. We have to show some resilience over the next few days and fight well in the next game.” said Mike Hesson.

"We're looking forward to the next match. There's a bit of reflection to do on today's performance. I don't think we'll underestimate that we were poor and we were exposed with the bat." concluded Mike Hesson.