Pakistan pace bowler Haris Rauf: “I have never refused to play Test cricket. I will definitely play whenever I get the chance”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan fast bowler Haris Rauf, who can bowl at speeds above 150 kph, has made it clear that he never refused to play Test cricket.
Rauf has only represented Pakistan in one Test to date, which came against England in December 2022.
However, he got injured midway through the match as he suffered a grade 2 strain in his right quad.
Questions were subsequently raised about the 31-year-old’s commitment to playing Tests as he reportedly refused to play in Pakistan’s Test series against Australia from December 2023 to January 2024.
Rauf has now cleared the air, insisting he has never declined the opportunity to represent his country in the longest format.
The Rawalpindi native added that if he were given another chance to play Tests, he would take it with both hands.
“I have never refused to play Test cricket. I will definitely play whenever I get the chance,” he was quoted as saying by Khel Shel on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Rauf recently featured in the 2025 Pakistan Super League (PSL), where he was the joint second-highest wicket-taker with 17 wickets in 13 matches for the Lahore Qalandars at an average of 25.50 and an economy rate of 10.28.
After PSL 10, he was involved in Pakistan’s three-match T20I series against Bangladesh in Lahore and snapped up one wicket in two games at an average of 59 and an economy rate of 11.80.
Rauf then missed Pakistan’s tour of Bangladesh, where the men in green suffered a 2-1 defeat in the T20I series.
He is set to return to action during Pakistan’s tour of the West Indies, which will consist of three T20Is and three ODIs that will be played from August 1 to 12.
Pakistan Squad for West Indies T20I Series: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Nawaz, Sahibzada Farhan (wicketkeeper), Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Sufiyan Muqeem
Pakistan Squad for West Indies ODI Series: Mohammad Rizwan (captain), Salman Ali Agha, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Mohammad Haris (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Sufiyan Muqeem
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