Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has confirmed that they won’t take any action on the Pakistan speedster Haris Rauf for pulling out of the upcoming three-match test series against Australia starting on December 14. The 30-year-old failed to create an impact for the Men in Green during their ODI World Cup campaign.
Pakistan relied on Haris Rauf to produce breakthroughs, especially in the absence of Naseem Shah. However, the opponent batter took for cleaners throughout the events feeding them with routinely tossed short deliveries, failing to bowl on consistent line and length.
In an interview, PCB Director of Media Aalia Rasheed revealed that Haris Rauf will be considered for the next limited overs series against New Zealand, adding that team director Mohammad Hafeez and Chief Selector Wahab Riaz both advocate players’ development, emphasizing the significance of players being prepared for all formats.
“The decision to encourage Haris to play Test matches stems from the belief that players should strive to progress in every aspect of the game, rather than limiting themselves to specific formats, Players must be ready to represent the national team in all formats, as they are centrally contracted with the board,” Aalia Rasheed said.
According to a source, It is said that Haris Rauf was never committed to playing the Test series in Australia and verified his non-availability to the selectors. The Right-arm pacer has only played one Test for Pakistan, against England last year, picking a solitary wicket in the game.
Haris Rauf Should Have Travelled To Australia With The Pakistan Team – Shahid Afridi
Former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi also raised concern about Haris Rauf missing a golden opportunity to play for the country against Australia, with him being requested by the chief selector and director of cricket to be part of the team.
“Haris Rauf wasted the opportunity and he should have travelled to Australia with the Pakistan team. Strangely, the player is refusing to be added to the squad despite requests from the Director of Cricket and Chief Selector,” Shahid Afridi said.
A lot of things have changed following Pakistan’s exit from the ODI World Cup Babar Azam stepped down from the leadership position following the team’s poor show in the marquee event. Pakistan has appointed Shaheen Afridi as its new T20I captain and Shan Masood as the Test Skipper, with new coaching being into the team to get the team ready for the 2024 T20 World Cup and 2025 Champions Trophy.
