Former Pakistan cricketer questions coach Mike Hesson’s loyalty over IPL ties
Pakistan cricket’s problems are no longer confined to the field. They are increasingly spilling over into the public conversation, where former players and officials seem to be competing to make sense of a crisis that is hard to explain.
The latest example came from former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif, who questioned the loyalty of current head coach Mike Hesson due to the New Zealander’s previous association with the Indian Premier League. Citing the examples of Bob Woolmer and Geoff Lawson, Latif praised their loyalty to Pakistan before turning his attention to Hesson, who previously worked with Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Indian Premier League.
“There will always be doubts about him,” Latif said of Hesson, before suggesting the IPL connection could allow someone to be used as an “agent.”
“So the damage we couldn’t do, maybe someone who can damage you will do,” Latif, who is no stranger to controversial statementshe said.
“But the one directly connected to the IPL, from the people there who might want to use him, that’s how the agents are made.”
It was an extraordinary claim for which Latif offered no evidence. Hesson’s IPL job is hardly a secret, nor is it an unusual route for a modern international coach. Yet at a time when Pakistan cricket is in desperate need of clarity, the conversation has once again turned to suspicion and conspiracy.
Hesson has remained in charge of Pakistan’s white-ball side for over a year, despite the disastrous T20 World Cup campaign he oversaw earlier this year.
This is particularly striking given what is really going on with the Pakistan team.
The PCB spent the tour of England reeling from one crisis to the next. After two heavy test defeats, seven players were sent home and head coach Sarfraz Ahmed was removed. Hesson, already in charge of the white-ball team, was asked to take charge of the Test side for the final match. Pakistan then struggled again, leaving England on the brink of a 3-0 series lead.
The uproar went beyond the selection. The The PCB has launched an investigation into player discipline and conduct, while former coach Jason Gillespie publicly criticized the way the overhaul was carried out. Pakistan have had six Test coaches in three years and have won just one of their last eight Test series.
In this context, repeated interventions by former players have often added more noise than clarity.
On the field, Pakistan struggled to stay afloat in the third and final Test of their much-talked-about tour of England. The wholesale changes did not produce an immediate turnaround as Pakistan were bowled out for 133 in their first innings in Birmingham. Apart from Saud Shakeel’s 43, none of the other batsmen in the top eight crossed the 10-run mark. Their bowlers, meanwhile, flattered the deception, conceding 453 to England in the first innings. At stumps on Day 2, Pakistan reeled at 52 for 2, still 268 runs behind.
During the tour, Pakistan failed to cross 200 in any of their seven innings.
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Issued by:
Akshay Ramesh
Published on:
11 Sep 2026 12:04 IST