Sarfraz Nawaz: “I am surprised at the inclusion of some players including that of Haris Rauf for the tour to England and Ireland”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan speedster Sarfaraz Nawaz believes express bowler Haris Rauf should not have been picked for the T20I tours of Ireland and England.
Rauf has not played any competitive cricket since he dislocated his shoulder while representing the Lahore Qalandars in the 2024 Pakistan Super League (PSL) in February.
Instead of throwing him right back into the Pakistan team, Nawaz feels the 30-year-old would have benefited from playing domestic cricket.
“I am surprised at the inclusion of some players including that of Haris Rauf for the tour to England and Ireland. He has been out of action since [February] and has no active cricket to his credit,” he was quoted as saying by The News, according to Geo Super.
“He should have been asked to play President’s Cup one-day cricket to prove his match fitness before getting an opportunity to become part of the national team again. How a player and that too a fast bowler could be included in the team without proving his match fitness? That can only happen in [the] Pakistan team’s selection.”
The Pakistan team recently played a five-match T20I series against New Zealand, which ended as a 2-2 draw.
They then proceeded to beat Ireland 2-1 in a three-match T20I series.
Pakistan’s next assignment will see them play four T20Is against England from May 22 to May 30.
Afterwards, they will take part in the 2024 T20 World Cup, which will be held in the West Indies and United States of America from June 1 to 29.
Pakistan’s first T20 World Cup game will be against the United States of America in Dallas on June 6.
Pakistan Squad for Ireland and England T20I Series: Babar Azam (capt), Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan
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