Shoaib Akhtar: “He has intent, but playing irrational shots makes him look bad”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan pace icon Shoaib Akhtar has called out big-hitting batsman Mohammad Haris, saying his habit of playing ill-advised shots reflects poorly on him.
Haris has gotten out to reckless shots on multiple occasions, which has led to him getting bombarded with criticism.
Akhtar loves the fact that he plays with intent when batting, but conceded that the 24-year-old must smarten up his act going forward.
“He has intent, but playing irrational shots makes him look bad,” the Rawalpindi Express was quoted as saying by Geo Super.
Haris recently represented Pakistan in the 2025 Asia Cup, where he amassed 131 runs in seven matches, which included a top score of 66, at an average of 21.83 and a strike-rate of 133.67.
He wasn’t picked for the recently-concluded two-Test series against South Africa, which ended as a 1-1 draw.
The men in green and the Proteas are now playing a three-match T20I series, which is currently 1-0 in favour of South Africa.
After the T20Is, the two teams will face each other in three ODIs from November 4 to 8.
Following this, Pakistan will face Sri Lanka in a three-match ODI series from November 11 to 15, and then be involved in a T20I tri-series featuring Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe from November 17 to 29.
Pakistan squad for South Africa T20I Series: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan (wicketkeeper), Usman Tariq
Reserves: Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Sufiyan Muqeem
Pakistan squad for South Africa ODI Series: Shaheen Shah Afridi (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Faisal Akram, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha
Pakistan squad for Sri Lanka ODI Series: Shaheen Shah Afridi (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Faisal Akram, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha
Pakistan squad for Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe T20I Tri-Series: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan (wicketkeeper), Usman Tariq
Reserves: Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Sufiyan Muqeem