Pakistan cricket hit by resignations of high-profile coaches

LAHORE: In another blow to the Pakistan men's cricket team, top officials Mickey Arthur, Grant Bradburn, and Andrew Puttick have chosen to vacate their positions after changes in their portfolios.

Arthur, Bradburn, and Puttick, who were assigned duties at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Lahore after a change in their portfolios in November 2023, have resigned from their respective positions.

In April 2023, Arthur was appointed Director of the Pakistan men’s cricket team while Bradburn was announced head coach of the Pakistan national men’s side earlier last year.

Former South Africa cricketer Puttick was Pakistan’s batting coach since April 2023.

Prior to his recent stint, Arthur was the head coach of the Pakistan Men's Cricket Team from 2016 to 2019 during which Pakistan attained the No. 1 spot in the ICC Test team rankings and won the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy.

In international cricket, Arthur has also served as the head coach of South Africa, Australia, and Sri Lanka.

57-year-old Bradburn, who had previously represented New Zealand in 18 international matches from 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 tenure as head coach, Pakistan achieved the No. 1 spot in the ICC ODI team rankings.

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, an official statement read.