Pakistan coach urges team to refocus after T20 World Cup loss

Pakistan’s cricket coach Mike Hesson urged his team to swiftly recover from their narrow 61-run defeat against India in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup and prepare for a crucial win over Namibia. Despite managing to restrict India to only 175/7, Pakistan’s batting woes during their Powerplay innings proved costly as they fell short in their run chase.

Hesson highlighted that while disappointment pervaded post-match, the team’s performance was part of any tournament journey and that they could bounce back. “We’re really disappointed we didn’t play as well as we could, but we’re also part of a tournament, and we know in tournament play that it’s not always going to go your way,” he said.

Pakistan must secure a win against Namibia to maintain their chances of advancing into the Super Eights. Hesson addressed some players’ struggles under pressure by emphasizing resilience as the tournament continued. “It’s very much when a guy’s putting you under pressure — are you going to stick to your basics or go away from that? That will be a real challenge because as the tournament progresses, we’ll be put under pressure again,” he added.

The coach also stressed the importance of trusting their decision-making abilities in high-pressure situations. “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 go outside that? That’s something we’re going to have to get better at,” he continued.

Pakistan now stand just one win away from keeping their Super Eights aspirations alive in a crucial match against Namibia scheduled for Wednesday.