Hesson Backs Toss Call, Blames Batting Failure After Loss to India in T20 World Cup 2026

Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson defended the team’s decision to bowl first against India in the recent ICC T20 World Cup clash. However, he expressed clear frustration with the way the green shirts batted in the second innings. He said the batters left their basics to counter the pressure, which eventually resulted in their collapse.  

"When the guys are putting you under pressure, are you going to stick to your basics or are you going to go away from that. And that's going to be a real challenge as the tournament progresses: we'll be put under pressure again and that's how we respond when you are under the pump,” said Mike Hesson while talking to the reporters.

He further added that players need to trust their decision-making abilities when the opponents are applying pressure. This is something everyone needs to learn if they want to progress in the tournament.

"All these guys are international players, they're all good players, but when the pressure comes on are they going to trust the decision-making or are they going to probably go outside [of their plans]? And today, pressure made us go outside there and that's something that for us to progress further in this tournament, it's something we are going to have to get better at," said Mike Hesson.

The head coach then urged the team to move past the defeat, as the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 is still underway and there is plenty to play for in the tournament.

"It's a pretty disappointed dressing room in there at the moment because they know how much it means to Pakistan. And we are really disappointed we didn't play as well as we could, but we're also part of the tournament and we know in tournament-play that it's not always going to go your way. So our job is to pick ourselves up and make sure that we're very good in two or three days," concluded Mike Hesson