'They're best by a mile': Pak coach says stop judging his team by India

Pakistan men's team head coach Mike Hesson has questioned the way his side is judged mainly on its results against India, saying that no team in world cricket has found a consistent answer to the current Indian side.Speaking to Cricinfo, Hesson said Pakistan's progress should not be measured only by matches against India. The former New Zealand coach, who took charge of Pakistan's white-ball teams in 2025, acknowledged India's current position at the top of world cricket and said Pakistan are not the only side struggling against them.The two teams have not played a bilateral series for more than a decade because of political reasons. They now meet only in multi-nation tournaments, where India have dominated the rivalry since 2022, including three wins over Pakistan at the 2025 Asia Cup and a 61-run victory in the 2026 T20 World Cup.“In the Asia Cup last year, for example, we won every game except against India," Hesson told Cricinfo. “The reality is every single team in the world is struggling to beat India at the moment. Every team, not just Pakistan."Hesson said Pakistan's performances against other teams often go unnoticed because of the focus on India.“Rightly or wrongly, Pakistan are gauged by how they perform against India. And at the moment, India is not only the best team; they’re the best team by a mile," he 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," he said.The Pakistan coach also pointed to the team's improvement over the past year, saying the results show they are moving in the right direction.“From 2023-2025, we didn’t make it out of the pool in ICC events. So you can’t go from eighth in the world to all of a sudden competing unless you start winning more regular games of cricket. And for us to go from winning 20-odd per cent to close to three-quarters of our games in a year is significant."Get the latest Sports News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.