Shahid Afridi: “In these conditions, the kind of pace he has, he would have performed well and enjoyed himself on the kinds of pitches Australia prepared in Perth and here (Melbourne)”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Iconic Pakistan power-hitter Shahid Afridi admitted he was bitterly disappointed Haris Rauf didn’t play in the three-match Test series against Australia as he felt the fast bowler would have taken plenty of wickets.
Rauf was initially included in the squad for the series, but he pulled out due to concerns about his workload.
Afridi noted that the 30-year-old is capable of generating express pace, hitting speeds over 150 kph, which would have caused the Australian batsmen a lot of problems.
“In these conditions, the kind of pace he has, he would have performed well and enjoyed himself on the kinds of pitches Australia prepared in Perth and here (Melbourne),” he was quoted as saying by Cricwick.
Instead of playing the Test series against Australia, which Pakistan lost 3-0, Rauf featured in the Big Bash League (BBL), where he represented the Melbourne Stars.
Most recently, he was involved in Pakistan’s five-match T20I series against New Zealand and claimed seven wickets in four games at an average of 23 and an economy rate of 10.61.
Rauf will now represent the Lahore Qalandars in the 2024 Pakistan Super League (PSL), which gets underway on February 17.
Lahore Qalandars Squad for PSL 9: Shaheen Shah Afridi (captain), Haris Rauf, David Wiese, Sikandar Raza, Abdullah Shafique, Zaman Khan, Mirza Tahir Baig, Rashid Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Sahibzada Farhan, Mohammad Imran Jnr, Ahsan Bhatti, Dan Lawrence, Jahandad Khan, Syed Faridoun Mahmood, Shai Hope, Kamran Ghulam, Rassie van der Dussen