Pakistan Coach Mike Hesson Finally Breaks Silence On 'Argument' Video With Captain Salman Algha At T20 World Cup

Following Pakistan's recent match against Namibia, a viral clip of a tense moment between captain Salman Agha and the head coach Mike Hesson sparked speculation. In the surfaced clip, Agha lost his cool over something, with Babar Azam by his side and head coach Mike Hesson also standing there next to Babar. In the video, Hesson looked stunned as Agha threw a bottle in frustration. The head coach went on to tell him something about keeping calm, to which Agha nodded. However, Hesson has now cleared the air.

"I've actually got sent that video, and you guys have really got that wrong," he said, explaining the context behind the exchange.

The Pakistan coach revealed, "So I was going over to talk to Salman about getting Nawaz to put the pads on as a left-hander, and Agha was upset that he just got out, so he threw the bottle into the ground. Nothing to do with the conversation we were having. And then, obviously, as I said, once the left arm spinner finished, we talked about shut up, go and getting his pads on to come in after - So it was a really simple conversation that often he wasn't even part of. He was just standing there, being pretty disappointed that he was out, and it just happened to be in the crossfire. So, amazing what people can interpret sometimes."

In the T20 World Cups, Pakistan have secured five victories as compared to two, which were won by New Zealand. Overall, in the shortest format, the Men in Green have won 24 games, whereas the Black Caps have clinched 23 wins.

Addressing questions about Pakistan's edge, having won five of seven T20 World Cup encounters against New Zealand, with the last defeat dating back to 2016, Hesson emphasised that matches are won through skill, not history or mindset.

"I don't think games are won or lost psychologically. I think they lost; they won through skill. New Zealand have played a huge amount on the subcontinent in recent times. Sri Lanka tends to spin a little bit sharper than it does in India as a general rule. And, we saw that a little bit at SSC. We saw that also during the first innings in particular, here the other night. So I don't believe anyone's got a psychological edge. Obviously, I remember the 2016 game. I was there at the time. I remember that, and I remember us preparing pretty well against Pakistan. We had a lot of different threats. So, yeah, what's happened in the past is in the past. We're looking forward to starting the Super 8s well tomorrow," Hesson explained.

New Zealand's Mark Chapman has a great record against Pakistan in T20Is. The Kiwi batter has amassed 663 runs in 25 matches and 22 innings at an average of 41.43. Chapman has slammed one century and four half-centuries.

(With Added Inputs)

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Topics mentioned in this article

Pakistan Cricket Team Agha Salman T20 World Cup 2026 Babar Azam Cricket