Pakistan rope in Hayden, Philander as coaches for T20 World Cup 2021

Pakistan on Monday (September 13) have appointed former Australia opener Matthew Hayden and former South Africa fast bowler Vernon Philander as coaches for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2021, scheduled to begin on October 15. These appointments were made by the newly-elected PCB chairman Ramiz Raja.

Pakistan kick start their T20 World Cup campaign against arch-rivals India on October 24 in Dubai.

The appointments come just a week after Misbah-ul-Haq and Waqar Younis stepped down as the head coach and bowling coach of the team respectively. "I think the Pakistan team needs a new direction. We have appointed Hayden and Philander for the World Cup," Raja said during a press conference.

"Going forward, we will have to carry out an extensive exercise in this regard in order to look for people who fit our model. Our objective is to give this team the best possible options so that it leads to improvement in performances," he added.

The PCB had earlier roped in former Test spinner Saqlain Mushtaq and all-rounder Abdul Razzaq as interim coaches for the home series against New Zealand. Misbah and Waqar left their jobs with one year of their contracts still remaining.

Pakistan in the past has appointed many foreign coaches with relative success including Richard Pybus, Bob Woolmer, Geoff Lawson, Dav Whatmore and Mickey Arthur.

(With inputs from PTI)