Mickey Arthur: “Haris Rauf does a real role for us. You know, he’s kind of our striker. So no, we wouldn’t look to change Haris Rauf because he’s got a specific role for us within the team”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Recently removed Pakistan team director Mickey Arthur believes it would be a mistake to drop fast bowler Haris Rauf from the playing XI.
Rauf came under immense criticism for leaking too many runs during the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup.
The 30-year-old conceded 533 runs in nine matches – the most by any bowler in a single edition of the World Cup.
However, since he did take 16 wickets at an average of 33.31, Arthur pointed out that he does fulfil a “specific role for us within the team.”
“Haris Rauf does a real role for us. You know, he’s kind of our striker. So no, we wouldn’t look to change Haris Rauf because he’s got a specific role for us within the team,” 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 bouncing back to defeat Bangladesh and New Zealand, it was not enough to earn them a spot in the semi-finals.
The men in green concluded their campaign on a low as England thrashed them by 93 runs.
Rauf was supposed to be picked for Pakistan’s upcoming three-Test series against Australia, but he pulled out at the last minute due to concerns about his workload.
The first Test between Pakistan and Australia will begin 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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