Haris Rauf: “As soon as Karachi picked Wade in the draft, Shaheen told me he wanted him to open the innings so he could bowl at him”
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Pakistan fast bowler Haris Rauf said Lahore Qalandars captain Shaheen Shah Afridi is determined to bowl to Australia wicketkeeper-batsman Matthew Wade in the Pakistan Super League (PSL).
Wade will represent the Karachi Kings in the tournament, which will take place from February 13 to March 19 in Karachi, Lahore, Multan and Rawalpindi.
Rauf, who will play alongside Afridi for the Qalandars, recalled that when Wade was selected by the Kings, Afridi told him that he wants the Australian power-hitter to open the batting so that he can bowl to him and try to get him out.
The 22-year-old’s eagerness to bowl to Wade stems from the semi-final of the 2021 T20 World Cup, where Wade hit him for three sixes in a row in the penultimate over of the match to lead Australia to victory.
“As soon as Karachi picked Wade in the draft, Shaheen told me he wanted him to open the innings so he could bowl at him,” Rauf was quoted as saying by journalist Farid Khan on Twitter.
The Qalandars, who won PSL 7, played against the Kings on Sunday, but Afridi did not get Wade out as he was run out for 36.
They will go up against the Kings again on March 12.
Lahore Qalandars Squad for PSL 8: Rashid Khan, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, David Wiese, Abdullah Shafique, Kamran Ghulam, Zaman Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Hussain Talat, Sikandar Raza, Liam Dawson, Dilbar Hussain, Mirza Tahir Baig, Ahmed Danlyal, Shawaiz Irfan, Jalat Khan, Ahsan Bhatti, Sam Billings (partial replacement for Rashid Khan), Shane Dadswell (replacement for Harry Brook), Shai Hope (replacement for Kusal Mendis)
Karachi Kings Squad for PSL 8: Haider Ali, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Amir, Shoaib Malik, Aamir Yamin, Sharjeel Khan, Qasim Akram, Matthew Wade, Imran Tahir, James Vince, James Fuller, Andrew Tye, Tayyab Tahir, Mohammad Akhlaq, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Tabraiz Shamsi, Mohammad Umar, Ben Cutting, Musa Khan, Faisal Akram (partial replacement for Tabraiz Shamsi), Adam Rossington (partial replacement for James Vince), Akif Javed (replaced Mir Hamza)