Grant Bradburn appointed Pakistan head coach for the next two years

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has confirmed Grant Bradburn as the head coach of the men's national team for the next two years. PCB chief Najam Sethi made the announcement and stated that he trusts Bradburn to take the team forward.

The former Black Caps spinner served as the head coach during the recently concluded home ODI series against New Zealand, which Pakistan won comprehensively by 4-1 and surged to the top of the rankings briefly.

The five-game T20I series resulted in a 2-2 deadlock. Grant Bradburn was the national team's fielding coach between 2018 and 2020 before moving to the National Cricket Academy to work on the development of coaches.

Sethi stated that the former Kiwi cricketer understands the culture and philosophy of Pakistan cricket and hence, is suited to the role. He hopes that alongside Mickey Arthur, Grant Bradburn can take Pakistan cricket to greater heights.

He said, as quoted by pcb.co.pk:

"I am delighted to name Grant Bradburn as the head coach of our men’s side. Bradburn joins the side with a plethora of coaching experience. Having worked with our men’s side before and at the National Cricket Academy, he understands our culture and philosophy of cricket well and is an ideal candidate to take our team forward.

"After the announcement of Mickey Arthur as team director, Bradburn’s appointment is another step in our endeavors of putting together a highly qualified coaching panel so our players can benefit from their experiences and dominate world cricket in all three formats.”

Arthur, who was previously the head coach of Pakistan, has returned to the fold as the director of the men's cricket team. The South African has taken up the role along with being the head coach of Derbyshire.

"We have been working hard on our raising our game" - Grant Bradburn

Grant Bradburn. (Image Credits: Twitter)

The former New Zealand all-rounder stated that Pakistan is a highly talented side and that the series against the Kiwis was a massive learning curve for the future. Grant Bradburn elaborated:

"It is a great honor for me to work with a highly talented and skillful side like Pakistan as a head coach. We have been working hard on our raising our game and are eager to showcase our growing skills. Mickey Arthur and I are excited to support, challenge and develop our players.

"The New Zealand series has been valuable to get game time and create clarity of roles, culture and brand to win. We have raised the bar of expectation and we will keep challenging our players. The process has started and our players are agreeing to take these challenges head-on."

Former South African cricketer Andrew Puttick has also signed a two-year contract as the side's batting coach.