IND vs PAK T20 World Cup 2026: Mike Hesson, who is the head coach of the Pakistan cricket team, has revealed why they held back Usman Tariq in the high-octane clash against arch-rivals India in Colombo. Tariq was supposed to be one of the Pakistan players to watch out for, but he started bowling only from the 11th over, and by then Ishan Kishan had already gone all-guns-blazing.
He did start late but had bowled brilliantly. He had taken the wicket of Suryakumar Yadav and registered brilliant figures of 4-0-24-1. But his efforts went in vain as the Salman-Ali Agha-led side lost the match by 61 runs. Hesson emphasised that Tariq is most dangerous when the batters try to go big against him. He also said that the management wanted Abrar Ahmed and Shadab Khan to perform well in the powerplay.
“Usman has a very specific role for us and is excellent when batters go after him. Could he have bowled after the powerplay? Yes. But Abrar Ahmed and Shadab Khan have done a very good job for us after the powerplay. They each had an over that didn’t go their way in terms of length, but I’d back them any day. It didn’t work today. Usman Tariq, though, was exceptional tonight,” Hesson told reporters in the post-match press conference.
DID PAKISTAN MAKE A MISTAKE AT TOSS?
Before the match, all three games in the tournament at the Premadasa had been won by teams batting first, with chasing sides ending up on the losing side. Despite that trend, Salman Agha opted to bowl after winning the toss.
However, Hesson played down the importance of the toss, saying the outcome was determined more by execution on the field and Ishan Kishan’s blistering 77 off 40 balls, which proved to be the decisive factor.
“No. The ball actually spun half as much in the second innings and skidded on. There was nothing wrong with the decision. It was about execution in the first six overs and the way Ishan played. The pitch didn’t slow down; it spun less. It wasn’t the toss — it was execution.
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With the defeat — the heaviest in the history of T20Is between India and Pakistan — Pakistan slipped to third place in the table, with their net run rate dropping to -0.403. They now must win their final league match against Namibia on February 18 to qualify for the Super 8 alive.