Aaqib Javed: “Haris Rauf has been playing T20 cricket, he hasn’t played Test cricket for a year, so how can they play him?”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan fast bowler Aaqib Javed has questioned how the selectors could even consider picking 150 kph speedster Haris Rauf in the Test team.
He noted that Rauf has only played one Test match in the last year, which was his debut against England in December 2022.
The 30-year-old couldn’t even complete that match as he suffered a quadricep strain.
Believing that Rauf is better suited for limited overs cricket, Aaqib was at a loss for words when it was announced that the Rawalpindi native was set to be selected for the ongoing three-match Test series against Australia.
However, the express bowler pulled out of the tour due to concerns about his workload, much to the annoyance of chief selector Wahab Riaz.
“Haris Rauf has been playing T20 cricket, he hasn’t played Test cricket for a year, so how can they play him?” Aaqib was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Pakistan lost the first Test against Australia in Perth by 360 runs and will now look to bounce back in the second Test, which starts on December 26 in Melbourne.
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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