Kolkata (West Bengal) [India]: Pakistan coach Grant Bradburn on Monday refused to label his squad an isolated one in international cricket, but blamed the unfamiliar “foreign” conditions in India as they strive to stay alive and hopes for winning results in the ongoing ICC World Cup 2023.
After winning the first two matches against the Netherlands and Sri Lanka, Pakistan suffered four consecutive defeats, including one against arch-rival India, and is on the verge of being eliminated. They must not only win every remaining match, but they must also hope that one of the four teams now leading falls behind.
Asked if the non-participation of Pakistan players in the IPL makes them feel alienated, Bradburn replied in the negative but did highlight the lack of experience in these settings.
“No, we don’t feel isolated or intimidated by that. Mickey Arthur and I, when we took over this team in April, six months ago, recognised that the team was playing a gear or two below where we wanted the team to be playing in terms of the brand, because we know the brand of cricket that is winning against quality teams is a more dynamic brand than perhaps, we were playing. So, we set a new course in April this year,” Grant Bradburn said in a pre-match press conference.
“So, it hasn’t been a big lead into this major tournament for us. Ideally, preparation for a tournament like this starts four years ago. We started six months ago and changed direction in the way that we want to play the game of cricket, especially the one-day brand,” he added.
“We’ve shown some positive signs of that over the last six months, and as I’ve mentioned, during this tournament, we’re very proud of some of the performances that we’ve put on the park. It’s taking a little bit longer than we were hoping, but we want to play a dynamic brand that matches the challenge of the conditions we’re playing in,” the Pakistan coach said.
Bradburn stated that his team had done their homework coming into the tournament.
“So, this tournament is a foreign condition for us. None of our players have played here before. Every venue is a new one, including this one.
So, we’ve done our homework meticulously on our opposition, on our venues that we’re playing at, and we’re prepared very, very well for each and every encounter. But the reality is that each and every venue is a new one for us and we don’t feel disadvantaged at all in terms of the knowledge, the quality, the skill, the backing that we have for this team of cricketers,” he stated.
Bradburn backed his team despite a disastrous World Cup campaign so far, saying, “We’ve been consistent with our selection; we’ve backed our players and we still back our players to perform and show the brand of cricket that we want to play that matches the task at hand and also, we’re the best in the world. And we’ve acknowledged over the past period of time that we’re not at that level that we want to be, but we’re certainly pushing hard to improve our brand of cricket because we know that the skills are within our players.”
However, the team’s recent form does not reflect in the side’s rankings, Bradburn said, adding that “skewed” rankings may not be an accurate depiction of the team.
“Look I’m not sure where you get favourites from because there are 10 teams in this tournament, there are 150 cricketers who are the best on the planet and in terms of the ICC rankings, we know they are skewed because we don’t get to play India, we don’t get to play a lot of the top nations who haven’t been to Pakistan of late,” Bradburn said.
On Pakistan’s pre-tournament billing as one of the title favourites, Bradburn pointed out that the team’s number one rating may have been deceiving because they haven’t met several top-ranked teams owing to a variety of issues.
“We were number five in April, we became number one recently before the tournament, and that might be where you term the phrase favourites. But we’re realistic. We have not been the best in the world as yet, so which highlights where we are in this tournament right now. We have no divine right to beat anyone in this tournament. We have to play quality cricket, and we have to put all three departments of our game together. We are desperate to bring joy to our nation. We are desperate to make our nation very proud of this cricket team,” Bradburn added.
On the team’s reliance on other outcomes going their way from here on in, Bradburn voiced sadness at not having control over their fate.
“And we are also realistic in the knowledge that we haven’t put all departments of our game together over the last four games but four losses does not define who we are as players, as coaches or a team, So we’re determined now to focus on what we can control and that is putting our best on the park in these last three games and then leaving that to fate as – to determine the remainder of the tournament for Pakistan,” he added.
Pakistan must capitalise on their opportunity against a battling Bangladesh at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Tuesday.
