Morne Morkel: “One of the X-factors”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan bowling coach Morne Morkel believes fast bowler Haris Rauf is one of the X-factor players in the national team.
Rauf is arguably the quickest bowler Pakistan have and he uses his rapid pace to get plenty of wickets.
During the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup, the 30-year-old picked up 16 wickets in nine matches at an average of 33.31.
Despite conceding 533 runs, which is the most by any bowler in a single edition of the World Cup, Morkel still stands by Rauf and knows how big of an asset he is to the men in green.
“One of the X-factors,” he was quoted as saying by NDTV.
Pakistan started off by beating the Netherlands and Sri Lanka before succumbing to defeats at the hands of India, Australia, Afghanistan and South Africa.
Despite stopping their four-game losing streak with back-to-back wins over Bangladesh and New Zealand, it was not enough to earn them a spot in the semi-finals.
The men in green concluded their campaign in dismal fashion as England crushed them by 93 runs.
Rauf was supposed to be selected for Pakistan’s upcoming three-match Test series against Australia, but he withdrew from the tour due to concerns about his workload.
The first Test between Pakistan and Australia will get underway 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