NEW DELHI: Setting the tone ahead of the high-voltage Asia Cup clash against arch-rivals India, Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson stirred the debate on Thursday by hailing left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz as 'the best spinner in world cricket."

Nawaz, fresh from his five-wicket haul against Afghanistan in the tri-nation T20 final in Sharjah, is set to lead Pakistan's spin attack alongside wrist spinners Sufiyan Muqeem and Abrar Ahmed.

Hesson's comments evoked memories of the 1980s, when Imran Khan would confidently declare Wasim Akram the best bowler, Javed Miandad the finest batter, and Abdul Qadir the top spinner in the world.

But unlike Imran's charisma, Hesson's assertion lacked the same conviction, especially when quizzed about whether Sunday's encounter would be a contest of wrist spin - Abrar and Sufiyan versus India's Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy.

"When you have got wrist spinners like that, it doesn't really matter about the surface as much. I guess the beauty of our side is we've got five spinners. We've got Mohammad Nawaz, who's the best spin bowler in the world at the moment, and he's been ranked that way over the last six months since he's come back on the side," Hesson said, responding to a query from PTI.

But Hesson's remark raised eyebrows, as the latest ICC T20I rankings don't even place Nawaz in the top 15 - he currently sits at No. 30.

"And obviously, we have Abrar and Sufiyan. Saim Ayub is now in the top 10 all-rounders in the world," another Hesson's claim that remains unfounded.

"And Salman Ali Agha has hardly bowled, and he's also the Test spinner for Pakistan. So, you know, we've got a lot of spin bowling options, if we think conditions suit that.

"If we don't, we have got five pacers as well, who, you know, allow us to either go for airspeed or change of pace or reverse swing, depending on what we think the surface will provide," the coach said with an air of confidence.

Hesson wasn't amused when asked if Pakistani batters are able to read the wrist spinners out of their hands.

"We have played against probably the best wrist-spin attack in the world (Afghanistan) on a surface that has spun square, and we managed to score 70 more than our opposition, so I'm not quite sure where that's come from," he said.

But a line-up comprising Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Ali Agha, Hasan Nawaz and Muhammad Harris is a developing one.

"The other part, I mean, look, you're right, like, we are a, it's very much a developing batting line-up, and there are a number of players who, on their day, can win you the game, but they don't get as many good days as you'd like at the moment, and I think that's very fair.

"The thing for us, though, is we're more interested, I guess, in the sum of the parts as a batting group, and in every game in Sharjah, we were probably 20 above par," he said.

He spoke about the tri-series final where Pakistan won by 75 runs on a difficult track.

"Even in the final, 120 was plenty on that pitch and we got 140, and I anyone watching that game would have been well aware of that as the ball was stopping and spinning, so the fact we scrapped 140, you're never going to play with fluency on those types of surfaces," he added.

"We also got 200, we got 180, and we had 150 chasing, which was probably our poorest performance. Outside of that, as a batting unit, we've got the job done.

"Would we like every one of them to be in form at the same time? Of course we would, and I guess the chance, playing out here, and it certainly looks like it's going to be a pretty good pitch, is for a few of those guys to find some form and play in innings that we don't have to play."

Hesson, who has been an IPL coach and a TV pundit, is excited about the battle ahead.

"Look, I've certainly watched many games from afar. With other teams or commentating. So certainly being on the other side of the fence, I guess, you know, being right there amongst, you know, such a highly charged audience is going to be exciting," Hesson said.