Mike Hesson confirms active role in Pakistan's team selection process

Pakistan's white-ball head coach, Mike Hesson, has confirmed his active involvement in the selection of the national cricket team.

In a media address on Thursday, Hesson explained that he and the captain collaborate closely to finalise the 15-player squad, a significant shift from the previous coaching structure.

“I am part of the selection panel. The selectors choose a squad of 20 players, and then the coach and captain decide on the final 15 to present to the chairman,” Hesson clarified during an interview at the pre-Bangladesh series camp in Karachi.

Hesson’s role in team selection marks a change in the Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) approach, contrasting with the situation under former white-ball coach Gary Kirsten.

Kirsten, who took over in April 2024, had a rocky tenure, resigning just six months into his role after he was excluded from the selection process.

Kirsten expressed frustration with the lack of influence he had, particularly after the PCB announced squads for the Australian and Zimbabwe tours without involving him in the decision-making.

“It was a tumultuous few months. I realised quite quickly I wasn’t going to have much of an influence. Once I was taken off selection and asked to take a team but not shape it, it became very difficult to have any positive impact on the group,” Kirsten said in an interview after stepping down.

Hesson’s more hands-on approach is seen as a step towards stability in Pakistan’s coaching structure, following the brief and troubled tenures of Kirsten and Jason Gillespie, who also resigned following disagreements with the PCB.

Both coaches cited frustration with the board's management style and lack of involvement in key team decisions.