Bradburn quits as HPC head coach

LAHORE: Grant Bradburn, one of the officials brought in by former PCB CEO Wasim Khan, has decided to step down as the Head of High Performance Coaching, 18 months before his contract was to expire.

During his three years in Pakistan, the former New Zealand Test spinner served Pakistan as national side’s fielding coach from September 2018 to June 2020, before taking up the development of coaching responsibilities.

Grant Bradburn said: “It has been an honour and privilege to serve Pakistan, providing challenge and support, to drive the players, coaches and teams forward. I will leave PCB grateful for the wonderful opportunities and the experiences I have gained.

“As a foreigner, I felt welcomed and valued by my present and former PCB colleagues, players, officials and the Pakistan public. I have always felt safe here, loved exploring this wonderful country and made many lifetime friends.

“My wife Maree and three children have also sacrificed a lot in allowing me to serve Pakistan cricket. Covid-19 regulations made it challenging for them to visit Pakistan and feel the warmth, love and friendship this country offers. It is now time for me to prioritise family and move forward to the next coaching challenge.”

Director High Performance Nadeem Khan said: “Grant served Pakistan cricket with passion and dedication. He was always full of energy and ideas, a number of which he implemented following the restructuring of the National High Performance Centre. I thank Grant for his contributions to Pakistan cricket and wish him well in his future endeavours.”

Bradburn is the fourth high-profile individual in the coaching set-up to resign since former opener Ramiz Raja took over as the chairman of the board. Misbah-ul-Haq and Waqar Younis were the first to quit their posts, as head coach and bowling coach, respectively. The third was PCB CEO Wasim Khan.

The National High Performance Centre took shape after Wasim brought in David Parsons, a former director of the ECB’s high-performance centre, in 2019 to look at the system and suggest recommendations.

The report was filed in 2020 and after that the PCB’s department for domestic cricket and the national cricket academy were merged to form a new set-up, the HPC, whose main function is to develop cricketers for the highest level.

The setup was also changed in a big way at the same time, with a new batch of employees brought in and prominent names such as Mudassar Nazar and Haroon Rasheed released.

Bradburn was joined by Saqlain Mushtaq, as head of international player development, and Nadeem Khan as director. Former internationals Mohammad Yousuf (batting), Mohammad Zahid (bowling) and Atiq-uz-Zaman (fielding and wicketkeeping) were also included as coaches.