Pakistan may have qualified for the T20 World Cup 2026 Super 8s, but head coach Mike Hesson’s tactics were questioned during their 61-run defeat to India in the group stage.

India outclassed Pakistan in all facets of the game at R.Premadasa Stadium to make it 8-1 against the arch-rivals in T20 World Cups. The Men in Green bounced back to beat Namibia in their final Group A clash to make it to the Super 8 phase of the tournament.

Amid the high and lows, Hesson has come under the scanner for his strange tactics, especially the decision to drop leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed after the India game and delaying the introduction of Usman Tariq into the attack against India.

Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif also found it baffling that someone of Hesson’s experience committing such mistakes.

“Leave (Pakistan captain) Salman Agha aside for a moment – what exactly is Mike Hesson doing? He has coached in the IPL. What advice is he giving? Choosing to field first against India on a slow pitch? Arre bhai, kya free ke paise le rahe hain? (Is he being paid for doing nothing?)" Kaif said on his YouTube channel.

“I understand that Salman Agha is a relatively new captain. It’s his first World Cup, so he may have doubts. But shouldn’t Mike Hesson have known what the right approach was on a slow surface?" he added.

Kaif also highlighted Pakistan’s blunder to bring in leg-spinner Abrar to bowl in the Powerplay against India.

“They used him (Abrar) in the wrong phase of the game. You brought in a leg-spinner and made him bowl in the fourth over of the Powerplay. He got hit, and then he was dropped for the next match. That was a wrong decision by the management," Kaif said.

“Leg-spinners usually bowl after the Powerplay – whether it’s Kuldeep Yadav or Rashid Khan. History shows that leg-spinners are rarely used in the Powerplay because the ball is new and harder to grip," he stated.

Pakistan relied heavily on their spinners during the India match as 18 of the 20 overs were delivered by the tweakers.

“Salman (Agha) bowled two overs; he could have bowled a third as well. There was so much hype around Usman Tariq, yet he was brought into the game when it was already out of Pakistan’s hands. I can understand players struggling under pressure – but what are the coaches doing?" Kaif said.

Kaif concluded by advising the Pakistan Cricket Board to hire a coach from India. “Maybe it’s time for Pakistan to hire a coach from India. Foreign coaches have been exposed. They rely too much on pre-planned notes, deciding in advance who will bowl at which stage. But T20 cricket doesn’t work like that. The game changes every over," he said.

“Captains like MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma made multiple plans with coaches – Plan A, B, C, and D – and adapted according to the situation instead of blindly following written instructions," he remarked.