Pakistan couldn’t secure a place in the semifinals of the ODI World Cup 2023 and that led to several changes in their support staff. Also, Babar Azam stepped down as the captain of the side.
Mickey Arthur, Grant Bradburn and Andrew Puttick, who were a part of Pakistan’s coaching staff during the marquee event, were given roles at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Lahore. However, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) confirmed on Thursday, January 18 that the trio has resigned from their respective positions.
In April 2023, Arthur was announced as the director of Pakistan’s men’s cricket team while Bradburn was appointed as the head coach of the ‘Men in Green’ last year. Meanwhile, former South Africa cricketer Puttick had been roped in as Pakistan’s batting coach back in April 2023.
This ends Arthur’s second stint with the Pakistan team. In his first stint, the 55-year-old had served as the head coach between 2016 and 2019. Under his tenure as the head coach, the Asian giants had claimed the No. 1 spot in the ICC Test team rankings and won the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy. Arthur has an impressive resume as head coach as he has worked with teams like South Africa, Australia and Sri Lanka in the past.
On the other hand, Bradburn, who had previously played 18 international matches for New Zealand between 1990 to 2001, served as the fielding coach of the Pakistan men’s team from 2018 to 2020 before taking up the Head of High-Performance Coaching role at NCA till October 2021. Under his coaching, Pakistan climbed to the top of the table in the ICC ODI team rankings for the first time in May 2023.
“All three individuals informed the Pakistan Cricket Board of their decision to leave their respective jobs by the end of January 2024. The decision was taken amicably between all the stakeholders. The PCB wishes them well in their future endeavours and is grateful for their services,” PCB mentioned in a statement.
Currently, Pakistan legend Mohammad Hafeez is serving as the team director and head coach. Adam Hollioake and Abdul Majeed are the batting coach and fielding coach, respectively. Also, Umar Gul is working as the fast-bowling coach while Saeed Ajmal is the spin-bowling coach. During the ODI World Cup 2023, Morne Morkel was Pakistan’s bowling coach but he resigned after the Babar-led side bowed out of the tournament.