Ex-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 into the public conversation, where former players and officials seem to be competing to make sense of a crisis that has become difficult to explain.
The latest example came from former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif, who questioned the loyalty of current head coach Mike Hesson because of the New Zealander’s previous association with the Indian Premier League. Latif invoked the examples of Bob Woolmer and Geoff Lawson, praising 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 doubt about him,” Latif said of Hesson, before suggesting that an IPL connection could allow someone to be used as an “agent."
“So the damage that we couldn't do, maybe someone will who can damage you,” Latif, who is no stranger to making controversial statements, said.
“But one who is directly linked with IPL, from people there, who might want to use him, that's how agents are formed.”
It was an extraordinary claim, and one for which Latif offered no evidence. Hesson’s IPL employment is hardly a secret, nor is it an unusual path for a modern international coach. Yet at a time when Pakistan cricket desperately needs clarity, the conversation has once again drifted towards suspicion and conspiracy.
Hesson has remained in charge of Pakistan’s white-ball side for more than a year, despite a disastrous T20 World Cup campaign under his watch earlier this year.
That is particularly striking given what is actually happening to the Pakistan team.
The PCB has spent the England tour lurching from one crisis to another. 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 over the Test side for the final match. Pakistan then struggled again, leaving England on the verge of a 3-0 series sweep.
The upheaval has extended beyond selection. The PCB has launched an investigation into player discipline and conduct, while former coach Jason Gillespie has publicly criticised the manner in which the overhaul was carried out. Pakistan have had six Test coaches in three years and have won only one of their last eight Test series.
Against that backdrop, the repeated interventions from former players have often added more noise than clarity.
On the field, Pakistan have been battling to stay afloat in the third and final Test of their much-discussed tour of England. The wholesale changes failed to produce an immediate turnaround as Pakistan were bowled out for 133 in their first innings in Birmingham. Barring Saud Shakeel’s 43, none of the other batters in the top eight crossed the 10-run mark. Their bowlers, meanwhile, flattered to deceive, conceding 453 to England in the first innings. At stumps on Day 2, Pakistan were reeling at 52 for 2, still 268 runs behind.
Across the tour, Pakistan have failed to cross 200 in any of their seven innings.- EndsPublished By: Akshay RameshPublished On: Sep 11, 2026 12:04 IST
