Mike Hesson questions ‘India obsession’ as benchmark for judging Pakistan’s progress

Table of Contents

Pakistan men’s cricket team head coach Mike Hesson has challenged the long-standing perception that his side’s success should be judged primarily by their  performances against India. The former New Zealand coach believes Pakistan’s recent progress deserves recognition beyond the high-profile rivalry, arguing that even the world’s strongest teams are finding it difficult to overcome India in the current era.

Speaking to Cricinfo, Hesson acknowledged India’s dominance in international cricket and stressed that Pakistan are far from the only team struggling to get the better of the Men in Blue. He pointed out that India’s remarkable consistency has made them the benchmark across all major tournaments, making it unfair to evaluate Pakistan solely through that lens.

The two neighbours have not played a bilateral series in over a decade because of political tensions, leaving ICC events and continental tournaments as the only occasions where they meet. Over the years, India have enjoyed the upper hand, defeating Pakistan multiple times, including three victories during the 2025 Asia Cup and another convincing win in the 2026 T20 World Cup.

Referring to those results, Hesson argued that Pakistan’s overall performances often get overlooked because of the enormous attention surrounding India clashes. He noted that Pakistan won every match in last year’s Asia Cup except those against India and insisted that such achievements deserve equal recognition. According to Hesson, every leading cricket nation has struggled against India recently, making Pakistan’s defeats less unusual than they are often portrayed.

“In the Asia Cup last year, for example, we won every game except against India. The reality is every single team in the world is struggling to beat India at the moment. Every team, not just Pakistan. Rightly or wrongly, Pakistan are gauged by how they perform against India. And at the moment, India is not only the best team; they’re the best team by a mile. At the T20 World Cup, we lost to England in the Super 8 off the back of a Harry Brook hundred and a very tight game outside of that. We won every [other] game except India,” said Hesson.

Also READ: Pakistan head coach breaks silence on no-handshake moment with India in Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 match

Hesson also reflected on the team’s progress since taking charge of Pakistan’s white-ball sides in 2025. He explained that rebuilding an international team requires gradual improvement rather than expecting immediate success against the world’s top-ranked side. The coach recalled that Pakistan failed to progress beyond the group stage in ICC tournaments between 2023 and 2025, highlighting how difficult that period was for the team. Since then, however, he believes the side has taken meaningful steps forward.

Hesson revealed that Pakistan’s winning percentage has improved dramatically over the past year, rising from roughly one victory in every five matches to winning close to three-quarters of their games. He described that jump as a significant achievement and evidence that the team is moving in the right direction.

“From 2023-2025, we didn’t make it out of the pool in ICC events. So you can’t go from eighth in the world to all of a sudden competing unless you start winning more regular games of cricket. And for us to go from winning 20-odd per cent to close to three-quarters of our games in a year is significant,” Hesson added.

Also READ: Pakistan unveil Asian Games 2026 squad; Sahibzada Farhan named captain