Islamabad United head coach Mike Hesson discusses PSL 10

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad United’s head coach Mike Hesson discussed his team’s preparations for the upcoming tenth iteration of the Pakistan Super League, set to kick off on April 11.

Hesson stated that despite the fact that the team “handled last year’s challenges well,” winning the tournament for the third time in the franchise’s history, they know that they “have to perform better than last year.”

“Now we have to deal with more challenges this season and overcome the pressures,” said Hesson. In order to do so, he shared that the team is treating every training session as if it was a match.

The head coach went on to discuss certain players in detail, such as Islamabad United’s three emerging players which include Mohammad Shehzad, Saad Masood, and Hunain Shah.

Hesson said that “all three have the potential to be match-winners.” Shehzad is a one of Pakistan’s great young talents, who Hesson has previously praised for “his ability to contribute with both bat and ball.” The 21-year-old scored over 700 runs and took 20 wickets in this year’s President’s Trophy. Hunain, 21, is the brother of Naseem Shah and 19-year-old Ubaid Shah, and all three will play for Islamabad United this season.

The head coach also talked about Sahibzada Farhan’s excellent form in domestic cricket, stating that he “is also batting well in training, and we have high expectations from him in the top order.”

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Team preparations

Islamabad United had a three-hour training session at Islamabad Club today, with various sessions focusing on fielding, batting and bowling. In one power-play scenario, Hesson gave Sahibzada Farhan, Colin Munro, and Azam Khan a target of scoring 60 runs, with the condition that the game would be lost if they two wickets fell.

Shadab Khan, Imad Wasim, Haider Ali, Hunain Shah, Mohammad Nawaz, and Rumman Raees also took part in the training.

Islamabad United’s squad will be complete by April 10. The team will play the tournaments opening match the next day against the Lahore Qalandars.  

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