Former Australian opening batsman Matthew Hayden and former South African medium pacer Vernon Philander have been recruited by the PCB to be part of the Pakistan team’s coaching staff for the upcoming T20 World Cup.
Hayden, Philander appointed consultant coaches for ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021
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— PCB Media (@TheRealPCBMedia) September 13, 2021
The new PCB chief Ramiz Raja announced this today and cited the aggression and quality of the players in their team as the reasons for them being hired.
These appointments have been considered very unexpected by the board and it is yet not clear what roles they will play in the coaching team. Ramiz Raja has also said that a new head coach will be appointed but has not revealed a name yet.
Ramiz said that Hayden is Australian and has won World Cups by being a great player himself and added that it was beneficial for the team to have an Australian in the squad. He continued by saying that Pakistan can win the World Cup but need to improve their performances by 10%. About Vernon Philander, he said that he was a great bowler and used to do well against Australia.
Hayden and Philander have no prior coaching experience. Philander retired from international cricket in 2020 and was supposed to play domestic cricket in South Africa. Hayden retired in 2009 and took up the occasional media work but this will be his first coaching assignment.
Misbah Ul Haq and Waqar Younis had stepped down as head coach and bowling coach of the team last week. Saqlain Mushtaq and Abdur Razzaq have replaced them for the team’s series against New Zealand which will start this week. According to ESPNcricinfo, Mushtaq is expected to remain as head coach of the team through to the World Cup, alongside Hayden and Philander.
