Rumman Raees: “I’m not here to issue a challenge but I hope to get the better of Kohli, Smith and AB de Villiers whenever I get a chance to bowl to them”
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Pakistan left-arm seamer Rumman Raees has admitted that he would love “to get the better of” India captain Virat Kohli, Australia skipper Steve Smith and South Africa batsman AB de Villiers.
The trio are three of the best batsmen in the world today, while Raees is still in the infancy stage of his international career as he has only represented Pakistan in nine ODIs and eight Twenty20 Internationals.
However, he has already made an impact in those matches as he has taken 14 ODI wickets at an average of 33.14 and eight Twenty20 International wickets at an average of 27.50.
“I still haven’t bowled to Steve Smith, Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers,” Raees was quoted as saying by the Hindustan Times. “But I have bowled to Kane Williamson. It’s very difficult to get him out. He has a very compact technique. But I managed to get him out four times. And then you have Hashim Amla, one of the greatest of all-time. It was a good learning curve bowling to him.
“I’m not here to issue a challenge but I hope to get the better of Kohli, Smith and AB de Villiers whenever I get a chance to bowl to them. It would be a great feeling.”
The 26-year-old admits that while he enjoys playing limited overs cricket, he is still determined to represent his country in Test cricket.
Explaining why he is eager to feature in the longest format, Raees said: “There’s a lot of cricket played now. The demand of ODI and T20 cricket has increased.
“But for me, Test cricket is the ultimate format. I personally want to play all three formats. I am a part of the ODI and T20 setup. For Tests, I’ll have to work my fitness a lot more, work on my pace and then only I’ll stand a chance to get selected.”
Meanwhile, Raees also conceded that he has to keep putting up strong performances on a consistent basis if he wants to cement his place in the national team as there are numerous other left-arm seamers that can oust him from the squad.
“We have six left-armers including myself (Junaid Khan, Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz and Usman Khan Shinwari),” he said. “And then we have Hasan Ali and Faheem Ashraf. You need to respect the competition. It’s all about performing to the best of your ability.”