Morne Morkel: “It’s [a] slightly new role for Hasan Ali and Haris Rauf bowling with the new ball in powerplays. These guys used to bowl sort of outside the powerplay. But I think, with the opportunity we’ve given them, they are standing up to the occasion”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan bowling coach Morne Morkel said the pace duo of Hasan Ali and Haris Rauf were given a “slightly new role” of “bowling with the new ball in powerplays” during the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup.
He noted that they had to take up the challenge since speedster Naseem Shah was ruled out of the tournament after injuring his shoulder during the Asia Cup.
While it was outside the norm for Hasan and Rauf, Morkel applauded them for “standing up to the occasion” and giving it their all.
“It’s [a] slightly new role for Hasan Ali and Haris Rauf bowling with the new ball in powerplays. These guys used to bowl sort of outside the powerplay. But I think, with the opportunity we’ve given them, they are standing up to the occasion,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
In the World Cup, Rauf finished with 16 wickets in nine matches at an average of 33.31, while Hasan claimed nine wickets in six games at an average of 35.66.
Pakistan started off by beating the Netherlands and Sri Lanka before losing four straight against India, Australia, Afghanistan and South Africa.
They managed to stop their losing streak with back-to-back victories over Bangladesh and New Zealand, but it was not enough to get them into the semi-finals.
The men in green concluded their campaign in disappointing fashion as England defeated them by 93 runs.
Hasan has been picked for Pakistan’s upcoming three-match Test series against Australia, which will get underway on December 14 in Perth.
Rauf, meanwhile, was supposed to feature in the series but pulled out due to workload concerns.
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