Dubai [UAE]: Ahead of Pakistan’s Asia Cup opener against Oman, coach Mike Hesson lauded Mohammad Nawaz as the “best spinner in the world” and expressed satisfaction with the evolving batting line-up in the absence of experienced stars Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan.
Pakistan will kick off their Asia Cup campaign against Oman in Dubai on Friday, carrying momentum from their recent tri-nation series in the UAE, where they defeated the hosts and Afghanistan, triumphing over the latter in the final at Sharjah.
Hesson’s side enters the tournament having won 10 of their last 13 T20Is, largely with a revamped top six that has been missing the veteran duo of Babar and Rizwan. This has given opportunities to opener Fakhar Zaman and top-order batter Saim Ayub to step up, with Hesson emphasizing that his batters are still developing and learning to complement each other at the crease.
“It is very much a developing batting lineup,” Hesson said on Thursday, as quoted by the ICC. “There are a number of players who, on their day, can win you the game, but they don’t have as many good days as you’d like at the moment. That’s fair. The thing for us is we’re more interested in the sum of the parts as a batting group. Sometimes 150 is enough, sometimes 190 isn’t. As a batting unit, we have to decide what’s required to win and aim to exceed that.”
While still fine-tuning his batting combinations, Hesson praised the recent performances of his bowlers, particularly the spinners.
Left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz was named Player of the Series in Pakistan’s tri-series triumph over Afghanistan and the UAE, taking 10 wickets in five matches at an average of 11.70, including a five-wicket haul in the final. Fellow spinners Abrar Ahmed and Sufiyan Muqeem have also impressed during Pakistan’s recent winning streak.
“The beauty of our side is we have five quality spinners,” Hesson said. “Mohammad Nawaz is currently the best spin bowler in the world, and has been ranked that way over the last six months since returning to the side. Abrar and Sufiyan have performed well too. Saim Ayub is now among the top 10 all-rounders in the world, thanks to his improved bowling. Salman Ali Agha has bowled little recently but is Pakistan’s Test spinner.”
While Hesson’s immediate focus is on a winning start against Oman, he is aware of the spotlight on Pakistan’s next match against arch-rival India on Sunday.
“We know India comes in with huge confidence, and rightly so, given how well they’ve played,” Hesson added. “We are focused on improving as a team day by day, without getting ahead of ourselves, but we are well aware of the challenge ahead and are certainly looking forward to it.”
