Salman Butt on Mike Hesson: “Neither he nor anyone else seems to truly understand what modern cricket is”
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Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt has slammed white-ball head coach Mike Hesson, saying he doesn’t seem to know what modern cricket is.
Salman questioned Hesson’s logic at times, including his selection decisions and where certain players bat and bowl.
The 41-year-old also pointed out that while Hesson frequently speaks about the need for power-hitting, there has been little visible progress in developing players into genuine big-hitters.
“I honestly don’t understand the coach’s logic. Who is picked, who is dropped, who bats where-none of it makes sense. When to bowl someone, when to take them off, match-ups… he’s memorised a few non-cricketing terms. He talks about strike-rates and modern cricket, but neither he nor anyone else seems to truly understand what modern cricket is,” Salman said on his YouTube channel as quoted by NDTV.
“He keeps mentioning power-hitting, but where is it? What work has been done with these players? Who is actually hitting sixes? Our batters can’t seem to play any shot other than towards midwicket.”
Pakistan are now playing a two-Test series against the West Indies, which is being held in Trinidad and Tobago.
After this, they will tour England for a three-Test series from August 19 to September 13.
Pakistan Squad for West Indies Test Series: Babar Azam (captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Ali Usman, Azan Awais, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Awais Zafar, Ghazi Ghori (wicketkeeper), Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel, Shan Masood and Ubaid Shah
Pakistan Squad for England Test Series: Babar Azam (captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Fazal, Ali Usman, Azan Awais, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Awais Zafar, Ghazi Ghori (wicketkeeper), Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel (subject to fitness), Shan Masood and Ubaid Shah