The new chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Ramiz Raja on Monday said that Pakistan’s cricket team will be coached by Australian Matthew Hayden and South African Vernon Philander for the upcoming T20 World Cup. 

Hayden and Philander will be taking over from the pair of Misbah ul Haq and Waqar Younis, who resigned from their posts one month ahead of the tournament.

Addressing the press conference, Raja said, “The Australian can bring some aggression into the team. He (Hayden) has experience of World Cups and was a world-class player himself. Having an Australian in the dressing room will be of great benefit for us.”

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Speaking of Philander, he said, “I know him well, he understands the nuances of bowling and he has a great record in Australia.”

This development of adding Hayden and Philander to the Pakistan think tank comes after the sudden resignations of Misbah and Waqar one month ahead of the T20 World Cup.

Earlier, the PCB announced that Misbah and Waqar have resigned and that former Pakistan Test players, Saqlain Mushtaq and Abdul Razzaq would be interim coaches for the time being.

Meanwhile, legendary Zimbabwean batsman and former skipper Brendan Taylor announced that he will retire after his country’s match against Ireland.

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“It’s with a heavy heart that I’m announcing that tomorrow is my last game for my beloved country. 17 year’s of extreme highs and extreme lows and I wouldn’t change it for the world,” the 35-year-old wrote on Instagram.

Taylor played 34 Test matches and 45 T20Is for Zimbabwe, scoring 2320 and 934 runs respectively. In 204 ODI games, Brendan Taylor scored 6677 runs, which means he will close as the country’s second-highest run-getter. His 11 ODI hundreds are already a record for Zimbabwe.