LAHORE, Mickey Arthur, Grant Bradburn, and Andrew Puttick have resigned from their roles at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore, marking a significant change in the coaching structure of Pakistan cricket, as announced by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Thursday, January 18.

According to International Cricket Council, this trio of coaches, who previously held key positions with the Pakistan Men’s Cricket Team until November 2023, were reassigned to the National Cricket Academy following the introduction of a new coaching staff post the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup. Mickey Arthur returned as the Director of Cricket in April 2023, having served as the Head Coach from 2016 to 2019. Grant Bradburn, who was the fielding coach from 2018 to 2020, was appointed head coach, and Andrew Puttick assumed the role of batting coach.

Pakistan’s cricket team experienced mixed results in various formats over the past year. They drew a Test series at home against New Zealand, achieved a 2-0 whitewash over Sri Lanka away but faced a series defeat in Australia. In T20Is, they suffered a bilateral series loss to Afghanistan and managed only a draw against New Zealand. Despite a brief stint as the No.1 team in the ICC Men’s ODI Rankings, their performance in the ODI World Cup was disappointing, failing to reach the semi-finals after losing five of nine games.

Following the World Cup, Pakistan cricket underwent major changes, including new captaincy and coaching staff. Arthur, Bradburn, and Puttick were consequently reassigned to the NCA. In their place, Mohammad Hafeez took over as Team Director and assumed the Head Coach role for the Test series against Australia, with Adam Hollioake as the batting coach. Umar Gul and Saeed Ajmal are sharing the bowling coach responsibilities for fast-bowling and spin-bowling, respectively.

The departure of Arthur, Bradburn, and Puttick from the NCA signifies a turning point in Pakistan cricket’s coaching dynamic, as the PCB navigates through these structural changes.