India national cricket team vs Pakistan national cricket team match, Asia Cup 2025, Pakistan Head Coach Mike Hesson, Mohammed Nawaz Asia Cup 2025: Pakistan Head Coach Fires Warning At India, Makes Big Claim With 'Nawaz Is World's Best Spinner' Remark Asia Cup 2025: As the avid cricket fans gear up for the big clash between arch-rivals, India and Pakistan, the Men in Green have started a psychological war, as the Salman Agha-led side's head coach, Mike Hesson, fired the first salvo, labelling left-arm spinner Mohammed Nawaz as "the best spinner in world cricket". The high-profile Asia Cup clash against arch-rivals India will take place on Super Sunday at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai. Mohammed Nawaz, coming fresh from taking a match-winning five-wicket haul against Afghanistan in the tri-nation T20 final at Sharjah, will lead Pakistan's spin charge alongside wrist spinners Sufiyan Muqeem and Abrar Ahmed. Ahead of Pakistan's game against Oman, Hesson's press meet was throwback to early '80s when Imran Khan would nonchalantly claim that "Wasim Akram is the best bowler in the world, Javed Miandad the best batter and Abdul Qadir the best spinner." Hesson's remarks came across as bold and in-your-face yet lacked conviction when he was quizzed on whether Sunday's match would pit Pakistan's wrist spinners Abrar and Sufiyan against India's Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakaravarthy. "When you have got wrist spinners like that, it doesn't really matter about the surface as much. I guess the beauty of our side is we've got five spinners. We've got Mohamed Nawaz, who's the best spin bowler in the world at the moment, and he's been ranked that way over the last six months since he's come back on the side," Hesson said, responding to a query from PTI. The former RCB head coach's comment was surprising, given that the latest ICC T20I rankings show that Nawaz isn't even in the top 15 - he's currently ranked 30. "And obviously, we have Abrar and Sufiyan. Saim Ayub is now in the top 10 all-rounders in the world. And Salman Ali Agha has hardly bowled, and he's also the Test spinner for Pakistan. So, you know, we've got a lot of spin bowling options, if we think conditions suit that," another Hesson's claim that remain unfounded. "If we don't, we have got five pacers as well, who, you know, allow us to either go for airspeed or change of pace or reverse swing, depending on what we think the surface will provide," the coach said with an air of confidence.

By Gurmeet Batra
Fri, 12 Sep 2025 08:43 AM (IST)

Source:JND

Asia Cup 2025: As the avid cricket fans gear up for the big clash between arch-rivals, India and Pakistan, the Men in Green have started a psychological war, as the Salman Agha-led side's head coach, Mike Hesson, fired the first salvo, labelling left-arm spinner Mohammed Nawaz as "the best spinner in world cricket".

The high-profile Asia Cup clash against arch-rivals India will take place on Super Sunday at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai.

Mohammed Nawaz, coming fresh from taking a match-winning five-wicket haul against Afghanistan in the tri-nation T20 final at Sharjah, will lead Pakistan's spin charge alongside wrist spinners Sufiyan Muqeem and Abrar Ahmed.

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Ahead of Pakistan's game against Oman, Hesson's press meet was throwback to early '80s when Imran Khan would nonchalantly claim that "Wasim Akram is the best bowler in the world, Javed Miandad the best batter and Abdul Qadir the best spinner."

Hesson's remarks came across as bold and in-your-face yet lacked conviction when he was quizzed on whether Sunday's match would pit Pakistan's wrist spinners Abrar and Sufiyan against India's Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakaravarthy.

"When you have got wrist spinners like that, it doesn't really matter about the surface as much. I guess the beauty of our side is we've got five spinners. We've got Mohamed Nawaz, who's the best spin bowler in the world at the moment, and he's been ranked that way over the last six months since he's come back on the side," Hesson said, responding to a query from PTI.

The former RCB head coach's comment was surprising, given that the latest ICC T20I rankings show that Nawaz isn't even in the top 15 - he's currently ranked 30.

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"And obviously, we have Abrar and Sufiyan. Saim Ayub is now in the top 10 all-rounders in the world. And Salman Ali Agha has hardly bowled, and he's also the Test spinner for Pakistan. So, you know, we've got a lot of spin bowling options, if we think conditions suit that," another Hesson's claim that remain unfounded.

"If we don't, we have got five pacers as well, who, you know, allow us to either go for airspeed or change of pace or reverse swing, depending on what we think the surface will provide," the coach said with an air of confidence.