Pakistan's head coach, Grant Eric Bradburn, reflected on his team's recent 228-run loss to India in Colombo, describing it as a "timely reminder" as they prepare for the upcoming World Cup.
While the defeat ended a three-month unbeaten streak, Bradburn appreciated the opportunity for his players to acclimate to the conditions they might encounter in future games.
“We haven’t lost a game of cricket for three months, so it is a timely reminder that we need to turn up every day, put our best in the park,” he said.
“We are very grateful for the gift that has been these last two days. To come at this stage of this tournament and to come at this stage before the World Cup is a wonderful opportunity for us to play India because we don’t get to play some of the best players in the world very often, and to play in conditions that may be similar in the World Cup,” he added.
Pakistan’s last defeat in international cricket was back in May, in an ODI against New Zealand in Karachi. Following that loss, Pakistan swept Sri Lanka 2-0 in Tests and Afghanistan 3-0 in one-dayers to claim the No. 1 spot in the ODI rankings.
The series win against Afghanistan, however, highlighted Pakistan’s troubles with the bat and the coach admitted that the batting unit hadn’t fired off late as it crumbled yet again against India.
“Our batting unit hasn’t quite clicked yet over the last month. We feel that is a positive thing because we have full trust in them. We are very consistent with our selection and the way that we are developing contenders for each position,” he remarked.
Pakistan's bowling had garnered significant attention in world cricket, but India managed to amass a formidable total of 356/2, equalling their highest score against their archrival. Bradburn praised India's batting prowess and acknowledged that Pakistan's bowlers faced challenges without early breakthroughs and occasional lapses in the field.
“Everyone has seen how lethal our bowling attack is and good teams will counteract that. They will try and come after a good bowling attack to put pressure on them. That pressure didn’t mount into wickets in the first PowerPlay when we were bowling, and India batted very well. We are very proud and very fortunate to have great depth in our bowling stocks.
“We weren’t proud of our fielding... the opening PowerPlay didn’t go our way, there was a catch that split first and second slip perfectly, there was a potential catch at third-man that didn’t quite go to hand,” he said.
In addition to their on-field struggles, Pakistan faced injury concerns as Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah both suffered niggles during the match. Rauf complained of discomfort in his right flank and didn't bowl, while Shah also left the field, leaving the team with only nine batters.
“They [Rauf and Naseem] are obviously very valuable to us. We’re just taking a precautionary approach with them. The medical team is doing a great job in assessing them. There was no point in sending them out there to potentially only worsen what might be little niggles that they’ve got,” the coach said.
As preparations continue for Pakistan's last Super 4 game against Sri Lanka, Shahnawaz Dahani and Zaman Khan have been called up as backup options.
