PAK vs BAN: Grant Bradburn Goes Mad After Pakistan's Poor Performance In ICC World Cup 2023, Shares His 'Skewed' Views

Pakistan head coach Grant Bradburn has said the ICC Rankings are skewed as his team continues to struggle in the ongoing ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023.

Just a couple of weeks before the start of the marquee event, Pakistan were the number one ODI side in the world before India displaced them. They were still one of the higher-ranked teams going into the World Cup and were one of the pre-tournament favourites.

But the rankings and reputation have counted for very little in the ongoing World Cup. The Men in Green are now on the verge of getting knocked out of the World Cup. The Babar Azam-led side began their campaign in fine fashion by registering wins over the Netherlands and Sri Lanka. But things went downhill after that.

The two wins were followed by 4 defeats. Hosts India ended their winning run by thrashing them by 7 wickets before Australia inflicted a 62-run defeat on them. It was followed by a humiliating 8-wicket loss to Afghanistan. It was Pakistan’s first-ever loss to Afghanistan in ODIs. In their last outing, Babar Azam & Co. suffered a narrow 1-wicket loss against South Africa.

Grant Bradburn on ICC Rankings:

With Pakistan failing to justify their ICC Rankings, Grant Bradburn has said that the rankings are skewed. He began by talking about the favourites tag given to some teams before sharing his views on the rankings. He stated that the rankings are not a true reflection of Pakistan’s form or potential since they have not played the likes of India and a few other big teams.

“Look I’m not sure where you get favourites from because there are 10 teams in this tournament, there’s 150 cricketers who are the best on the planet,” Grant Bradburn said.

“In terms of the ICC rankings, we know they are skewed because we don’t get to play India, we don’t get to play a lot of the top nations who haven’t been to Pakistan of late.

“We were number five in April, we became number one recently before the tournament, and that might be where you term the phrase favourites. But we’re realistic. We have not been the best in the world as yet, so which highlights where we are in this tournament right now. We have no divine right to beat anyone in this tournament.

“We have to play quality cricket, and we have to put all three departments of our game together. We are desperate to bring joy to our nation. We are desperate to make our nation very proud of this cricket team. And we are also realistic in the knowledge that we haven’t put all departments of our game together over the last four games but four losses do not define who we are as players, as coaches or a team,” he added.

With just 2 wins from 6 games, Pakistan are all but out of the semifinals race although they still have a slim chance. They need nothing less than a miracle to progress to the next stage. For that to happen, they first need to win their remaining games before hoping that other results go their way. Pakistan will be in action next on Tuesday (October 31) when they take on Bangladesh.