Pakistan’s domestic structure has been revamped over the last two years. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has brought a change in the culture by adopting modern techniques and focusing on the coaching aspect of the game.
The changes to the National High-Performance Center (NHPC) have been highlighted by appointments of Pakistani legends such as Mushtaq Ahmed, Saqlain Mushtaq and Mohammad Yousuf.
PCB decided to revamp the NHPC by combining domestic cricket and national academies into one performance center. PCB appointed New Zealand coach, Grant Bradburn, as the Head of High-Performance Coaching and showed their intent of bringing a deep-rooted change in the culture of cricket in Pakistan.
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This is the new look coaching setup of NHPC:
Bradburn has claimed that serious work is needed to redevelop the mindset of young players. He said that the coaches need to focus on a team-centric approach rather than a player-centric approach. The coaches must work on the players and instill a culture of prioritizing match-winning performances rather than individual performances, he added in an interview.
Bradburn has previously worked with Pakistan Cricket Team as a fielding coach, so he is familiar with the mindset of the players. He said that ‘game sense’ is one of the most important attributes and it is better to develop it at a young age so that players can learn how to adapt to different situations in a game.
Our players have a lot of knowledge and skill but as coaches we must be promoting game sense so the players are versatile when they find themselves in various situations. These are the things we must search for in our selection. That’s the complexity of selection and coaching and that is what we are trying to get our coaches to work on. We need to measure results by matches won, not individual statistics.
He said it is key for new coaches coming into the set-up to develop the latest techniques and enhance their coaching skills according to the need of the players.
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Bradburn asserted that the current crop of players have the required skill to succeed at the international level, but the focus from a player-centric approach needs to be shifted to a team-building approach. This will enable them to perform even better and become the best in the world.
