Mike Hesson Concedes Pakistan’s Defeat vs India At 2027 World Cup

Mike Hesson [Source: AFP]

Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson has admitted that India are currently the strongest team in world cricket. Because of this, he believes Pakistan would find it very difficult to beat their biggest rivals at the 2027 ICC Men’s ODI World Cup. 

Notably, the 2027 World Cup is scheduled to be jointly hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia from October 4 to November 21, 2027.

India Called The Best Team By Pakistan Coach

While speaking to Cricinfo, Mike Hesson said that India are not just better than Pakistan, but they are the best team in the world by a big margin.

According to him, every international team is finding it hard to defeat India at the moment. Therefore, Pakistan are not the only side struggling against them.

Mike Hesson said, "In the Asia Cup last year, we won every game except against India. The reality is that every single team in the world is struggling to beat India at the moment. Every team, not just Pakistan. 

Rightly or wrongly, Pakistan are judged by how they perform against India. At the moment, India are not only the best team, they're the best team by a mile."

Pakistan’s Recent Form Across Format

Notably, Pakistan have gone through a difficult period in international cricket. Recently, the Men in Green were whitewashed by Bangladesh in a Test series, which was a major disappointment for the team. 

However, they later made a strong comeback in ODIs defeating Australia in an impressive series. Despite these mixed results, Pakistan have not enjoyed much success in ICC tournaments in recent years. 

Their last ICC title came in 2017 when they won the Champions Trophy. Since then, they reached the final of the 2022 T20 World Cup and also made it to the semi-finals of the following edition. However, they have not reached the semi-finals of the ODI World Cup since 2011.

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Mike Hesson Reflects On Pakistan's Performance In T20 World Cup

Mike Hesson also spoke about Pakistan’s campaign in the T20 World Cup 2026. He pointed out that Pakistan played good cricket throughout the tournament. In fact, their only defeats came against England and India. 

Mike Hesson said, "At the T20 World Cup, we lost to England in the Super 8 off the back of a Harry Brook hundred and a very tight game outside of that. We won every [other] game except India.” 

Talking about the match, India batted first and scored 175 runs. In reply, Pakistan struggled against India’s bowling attack and were dismissed for just 114 runs in 18 overs. Consequently, India won the match by a comfortable margin of 61 runs.

India’s Strong Record Against Pakistan In ODI World Cup 

The rivalry between India and Pakistan has produced many memorable matches over the years. Overall, the two teams have played 136 ODIs. Pakistan have won 73 matches, while India have claimed 58 victories. In addition, five matches ended without a result.

However, the story is completely different in the ODI World Cup. India and Pakistan have faced each other eight times in the tournament, and India have won every single match. As a result, India hold a perfect 8-0 record against Pakistan in World Cup history.

Furthermore, Pakistan’s overall World Cup record has also been disappointing. Since winning the 1992 ODI World Cup, they have reached the final only once, in 1999. Additionally, they have been knocked out in the group stage in four of their last six World Cup appearances.

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