Umar Gul: “Rauf needs to get himself back and remember his best performances [as it will help him]”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Newly-appointed Pakistan fast bowling coach Umar Gul has advised blisteringly quick seamer Haris Rauf to do better going forward as the national team needs him to be at his best.
Rauf is one of Pakistan’s key pace bowlers in limited overs cricket as he is a bonafide wicket-taker and can hit speeds over 150 kph when bowling.
During the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup, the 30-year-old took 16 wickets in nine matches at an average of 33.31.
However, he also conceded 533 runs – the most by any bowler in a single edition of the World Cup.
With this in mind, Gul wants Rauf to work on his game and bounce back in style.
“Rauf needs to get himself back and remember his best performances [as it will help him],” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Pakistan won their first two matches against the Netherlands and Sri Lanka before falling to India, Australia, Afghanistan and South Africa.
Despite fighting back to beat Bangladesh and New Zealand, they failed to qualify for the semi-finals.
The men in green’s campaign ended in disappointing fashion as England thumped them by 93 runs.
Rauf was supposed to be picked for Pakistan’s upcoming three-match Test series against Australia, but he withdrew at the last moment due to concerns about his workload.
The first Test between Pakistan and Australia will start on December 14 in Perth.
Pakistan Squad for Australia Test Series: Shan Masood (captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Saud Shakeel and Shaheen Shah Afridi
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