Since Pakistan doesn’t often get to play the best teams, the ICC rankings are skewed: Grant Bradburn

Pakistan head coach, Grant Bradburn attributes the Men in Green’s dismal performance in the ongoing ODI World Cup on their lack of opportunities to play elite nations, especially India, in ICC (International Cricket Council) events.

Bradburn denied that Pakistan had been “favourites” to win the title, commenting ahead of Pakistan’s match against Bangladesh at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

“Look, I’m not sure where you get your favorites from because there are 150 of the top cricket players in the world competing in this event, and there are 10 teams. According to Cricbuzz, Bradburn stated, “We know the ICC rankings are skewed because we don’t get to play India and we don’t get to play a lot of the top nations who haven’t been to Pakistan of late.”

In April of this year, he added, Pakistan was the highest-ranked squad; they rose to the top one month before to the tournament’s commencement. Taking note of Pakistan’s standing in the current competition, Bradburn continued, “They did not become the best team in the world.”

“We may be considered favorites because we were ranked No. 5 in April and No. 1 just prior to the competition. We’re practical, though. We haven’t yet proven to be the best in the world, which emphasizes our current standing in the competition. There is no divine right for us to win this competition. We need to combine all three areas of our game and play excellent cricket,” he stated.

Between the two World Cups, Pakistan has played just seven full ODIs against Australia, England, and India.

The only countries with less games versus these nations are Zimbabwe, the Netherlands, Ireland, and Nepal. Another apparent disadvantage for the Pakistani players is that they do not participate in the Indian Premier League (IPL), hence they are not accustomed to Indian conditions.

“No, that doesn’t make us feel alone or afraid,” Bradburn remarked. “Mickey [Arthur] and I realized that, upon taking over this team in April, six months ago, that the team was performing one or two levels below our expectations for the brand. This is because we are aware that the brand of cricket that is winning against elite teams is a more dynamic brand than, possibly, what we were putting on. We so charted a fresh course for this year in April.

Thus, we haven’t had much of a lead-up to this important tournament. For a competition such as magnitude, planning should have begun four years ago. We began six months ago and have since altered our approach to the game of cricket, particularly with regard to the one-day brand. Over the past six months, we’ve showed some encouraging signs of that, and as I’ve already stated, we’re quite happy of some of the plays we’ve made on the field throughout this tournament.

“We want to play a dynamic brand that matches the challenge of the conditions we’re playing in, but it’s taking a little longer than we were hoping.” Thus, this competition is unfamiliar to us. Not a single one of our guys has ever played here. Every location, including this one, is brand-new. We have therefore thoroughly researched both our opponent and the locations where we will be playing, and we are extremely well-prepared for each and every game. But in actuality, every place is brand-new to us, and we don’t feel inferior in any way regarding our expertise, level of skill, support, or understanding of this cricket squad.”