A fresh debate broke out after Pakistan’s defeat to India when Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi met the players before the match during the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026. With pressure already intense heading into the match, attention turned to whether the talks had created unwanted distraction before the game.
Colombo’s R on Sunday. Pakistan suffered a huge blow as they lost to arch-rivals India by 61 runs at the Premadasa Stadium. The defeat has put Hesson’s side in a difficult position, now needing a win against Namibia in their final group-stage match to keep their Super Eights hopes alive.
Mohsin Naqvi is a big supporter of our team – Mike Hesson
In the post-match press conference, Mike Hesson was asked whether Mohsin Naqvi’s visit before big matches would put additional burden on the players. Hesson said that such meetings should not be seen as pressure. He said that it is part of his responsibility to meet the players before the match.
“I don’t think it puts extra pressure. The board chairman (Mohsin Naqvi) is a big supporter of our team and if he is coming to meet the players before the game, it is part of his job. It doesn’t put extra pressure on the players.” Hesson told reporters.
The Group A clash remained uncertain until a few days ago, when the Pakistan government approved the team’s participation. However, the PCB took a U-turn and decided to play the match against their arch-rivals.
A very disappointing dressing room – Mike Hesson
Mike Hesson said that Pakistan’s dressing room is devastated after the crushing defeat against arch-rival India. He said that he did not perform up to his potential, which further increased the disappointment.
“The dressing room is quite disappointed at the moment because we know how much it means to Pakistan. We are really disappointed that we could not play as well as we could have. But this is a tournament, and in playing tournaments, things don’t always go your way. Our job now is to pick ourselves up and make sure we are very good in two or three days.”
India secures place in Super Eight with another crushing defeat of Pakistan
India rebuilt their innings after losing the wicket of Abhishek Sharma early, with Ishan Kishan scoring 77 runs off 40 balls on a challenging surface for the batsmen. Suryakumar Yadav (32) and Shivam Dubey (27) added crucial runs to help India post a competitive score of 175.
Jasprit Bumrah dismissed Sam Ayub and captain Salman Aga twice in the second over, leaving Pakistan struggling at 13/3. Usman Khan returned with 44, but the rest of the batting lineup failed to contribute. Pakistan were bowled out for 114 runs, their third lowest T20 score against India.
India registered its third consecutive win in the tournament and secured its place in the Super Eight. Meanwhile, Pakistan will need to beat Namibia on Wednesday to stay in contention. The Men in Green have a World Cup record against India of 1-8.
Also read: Mohsin Naqvi boycotted India vs Pakistan match, shameful to leave players to rot in T20 World Cup
