Vernon Philander, Matthew Hayden pick their favorite Pakistan bowler and batters from the T20 World Cup

Matthew Hayden and Vernon Philander [Image- Screengrab]
Matthew Hayden and Vernon Philander [Image- Screengrab]

Outgoing Pakistan bowling coach Vernon Philander has picked pacer Haris Rauf's performance at the T20 World Cup as one of the standout bowling performances.

During an interaction with batting coach Matthew Hayden, Philander said it's Rauf's maturity that makes him stand out from the rest.

Rauf had a decent T20 WC campaign. The pacer claimed eight wickets in six matches at an average of 21 and an economy rate of 7.3.

However, he had a forgettable outing in the semi-final against Australia as he returned figures of 0/32 in three overs.

"Haris (Rauf) is the one for me that stands out. Shaheen is of course a world class performer. But, in terms of maturity, Haris is the one that stands out for me," said Philander in a YouTube video posted by Pakistan Cricket.

On the batting front, Hayden was full of praise for the opening duo of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan. He praised them for consistently setting the platform for the rest of the batters throughout the competition.

The former Aussie opener also hailed Asif Ali for nailing the role of finisher against the likes of New Zealand and Afghanistan in the group stage.

"Our batters were just brilliant in this tournament. In particular, inside the powerplay, Rizzi (Rizwan) and Babar, those two set the platform every game. Powerplay tends to be where you dominate T20 cricket. The balance of power at the death is very key, in particular, I think that 17th over from the batting sense, we're pretty good there. Someone like Asif (Ali) coming and smashing," said Hayden.

He also talked up "unexplored talents" like Khushdil Shah and Haider Ali. The duo were part of the squad but didn't feature in the tournament.

"They have got some unexplored talent as well. Looking at Khusi (Khushdil Shah) and Haider (Ali), these guys have got serious talent and power" added Hayden.

Pakistan lost the semi-final to Australia in a dramatic finish on Thursday night in Dubai, paving the way for a Trans-Tasmanian final.

"Calmness factor was missing but Pakistan future bright" - Vernon Philander

Speaking on the semi-final defeat, Philander conceded the pressure of expectations got to the Pakistani players in crunch moments.

Pakistan looked in control of the game until the 16th over of Australia’s run-chase. Poor death bowling and equally poor fielding, however, proved to be their undoing. Matthew Wade cashed in on the reprieve he got from Hasan Ali to seal the deal by smashing three sixes off Shaheen Shah Afridi.

Philander said-

"I think if we are being brutally honest to ourselves, I think the moment got to us a little bit. Probably a little bit of panic set in, especially in fielding. It's one area that we highlighted, it could harm us. And It cost us a little bit in semi final."

However, the former Proteas seamer believes the experience will help Pakistan cricketers deliver on the big stage in the future. He also heaped praise on the talent that Pakistan cricket has at its disposal.

"Pakistan Cricket is in a very good space. It will be a learning curve for all of them. I'd like them to use this opportunity to learn from it to understand what it takes to perform in a key moment at the key time. Calmness factor was probably missing in the semi-final. I can see a lot of success coming up in the near future. It's just about how they are gonna structure and work with the talent pool that they have" he added.

Australia and New Zealand will lock horns in the summit clash in Dubai on November 14.

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Edited by Aditya Singh