Mike Hesson appears on 62nd episode of PCB PodcastBy PCB on Jun 05, 2025
Lahore, 5 June 2025: The 62nd edition of the PCB Podcast has been released and is available here for viewing and downloading for editorial purposes.
In the latest episode, Pakistan men’s white-ball head coach Mike Hesson is interviewed by former Test cricketer and commentator Bazid Khan. Hesson shares insights into his coaching philosophy, discusses what led him to take up the role with Pakistan, explains how his stint with Islamabad United in the HBL PSL helped him get to know the Pakistan players and outlines his vision for the team’s future.
In Hesson’s first assignment as head-coach of the team, Pakistan whitewashed Bangladesh in the three-match T20I series held in Lahore from 28 May to 1 June. This special edition of the podcast was recorded following Pakistan’s victory in the first T20I against Bangladesh.
Transcript of Mike Hesson's interview on PCB PodcastBy PCB on Jun 05, 2025
In the 62nd episode of PCB Podcast, Pakistan men’s white-ball head coach Mike Hesson is interviewed by former Test cricketer and commentator Bazid Khan, which is available here. Hesson shares insights into his coaching philosophy, discusses what led him to take up the role with Pakistan, explains how his stint with Islamabad United in the HBL PSL helped him get to know the Pakistan players and outlines his vision for the team’s future.
The following is some of the extract from the conversation between Bazid Khan and Mike Hesson:
Bazid Khan: How difficult is it to not having played top level cricket and then be able to coach at the elite level?
Mike Hesson: Look, I think players decide if you are valuable or not. They are the ones that decide, can this person help me achieve what I want to achieve. And they ultimately decide if you add value. So, for me, I think a lot of really fine players can share a lot of experiences.
Some are very good coaches. Some probably struggle to understand those that are struggling, because they were so good. For me, coaching is very different than playing. It's about trying to maximise talent. It's not necessarily about telling them about the greater things that I have played during my time.
I have had that for many years and when I coached New Zealand, I hadn't, you know, without international experience and like I said, players decide. They work out very quickly if you can add value or not. You know, I have been lucky enough to coach some of the best players in the world and build those relationships with them.
And I think in many ways, you know, they can share things with you more than, you know, if you're potentially a competitor. And, you know, this job is a coaching job. It's not a playing role.
Bazid Khan: As a head coach, you've obviously got a lot of experience, you have coached almost all the world around. Could you sort of, in your own words and sort of summarise or is it possible to summarise your coaching philosophy as a Head Coach?
Mike Hesson: Look, I guess I go back to trying to maximize talent and I think that that's the role of any head coach and I guess that I do that by building relationships. So once, I believe you can only coach a player once you actually understand the path they've been through.
I see my philosophy is trying to understand that and add value around that rather than trying to dictate necessarily the way they have to play.
Bazid Khan: So, it's a more holistic approach where you look at 360, look at every other aspect, not just how he's playing.
Mike Hesson: Yeah, absolutely. I think once you've got that relationship, you know, you understand what makes them tick, where they're trying to get to, the path they've already traveled. Only then I think you can add value. And yeah, it is a holistic approach. It's probably more an individual approach than necessarily, you know, we all have to do it my way.
