I regret not playing when I see flat wickets: Mike Hesson
Sep 12, 2020
Dubai [UAE], September 12 : Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), Director of Cricket, Mike Hesson said that after turning into a coach he regrets not playing when he sees flat wickets.
Mike Hesson was involved with Otago cricket for 15 years before taking over as Kenya coach after the team's poor performance in the 2011 World Cup. He took up coaching at an unusually early age of 22.
Hesson took over as Kenya's coach for a two-year term but resigned in May 2012, less than a year after taking up the job, and joined New Zealand as head coach in 2012. He became the longest-serving coach of the side and under his guidance Blackcaps reached the final of the 2015 World Cup. He ended his tenure with the Kiwi side in 2018.
"Yes, I had a few injuries from a back perspective but also got an opportunity to be the director of cricket from a young age which was a really fortunate opportunity and I loved it. I absolutely loved coaching and loved the opportunity to engage with probably with different levels that gave me plenty of experience. Yeah, I regret not playing at times when I see flat wickets but other than that I'm happy," Hesson said in a video posted by RCB's official Twitter handle.
Commenting on his stint with the Kenyan side, the former coach said, "The Kenyan players are semi-professional in terms of how they operate, the facilities are tough so you have to be really flexible in what you do."
Hesson termed it 'special' to coach his home country New Zealand.
"I absolutely loved coaching Kenya but coaching your home nation New Zealand and doing good things was pretty special," he said.
The 45-year-old said he felt welcomed in India and also revealed that he represented his country in badminton too during his early days.
"Obviously, I love cricket but I think Indians embrace all nations and I always felt welcome there. Coach is a lot more serious and probably a lot more outgoing I think. I have played underage badminton for New Zealand when I was growing up. Obviously, I was a bit more athletic than I'm now. I loved that and managed to do a little bit of travelling around that kept me fit. I was more a doubles specialist so in terms of opening the batting it was probably a good mix," Hesson concluded.
Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings will be locking horns in the opening match of the IPL 2020 on September 19 in Abu Dhabi. RCB will take on SunRisers Hyderabad in their opening match of the tournament on September 21.
