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In his last T20I for the Pakistani team, which was played against Afghanistan on September 7, the 31-year-old spinner picked up five wickets, which also includes a hat-trick.
Pakistan’s head coach Mike Hesson makes bold claim. (Picture Credit: AFP)
The Pakistan men’s cricket team will open its campaign in the Asia Cup 2025 on Friday, September 12, against debutants Oman in Dubai and then take on arch-rivals India at the same venue on Sunday, September 14. The match between India and Pakistan, who last played a T20I match against each other on June 9, 2024, in New York, is expected to be a nail-biting contest.
Ahead of the big match between the two teams, Pakistan’s white-ball head coach Mike Hesson has made a bold claim about star Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz. According to Hesson, who joined Pakistan as head coach earlier this year, Nawaz is the best spinner in the world at the moment.
“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 Mohammad 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 on Thursday.
Nawaz impressed with his performance in the last T20I match for Pakistan, which was played against Afghanistan. In the final of the T20I series at Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Sunday, September 7, Nawaz picked up five wickets, which also includes a hat-trick. The 31-year-old cricketer is the third Pakistani cricketer to dismiss three batters in three back-to-back balls in a T20I match.
“And obviously, we have Abrar (Ahmed) and Sufiyan (Muqeem). 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.”
“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 added.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE)
September 11, 2025, 23:28 IST
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