Rashid Latif: “Haris was encouraged to play modern-day cricket and was picked ahead of Rizwan, Usman, and Haseeb. But once in the team, his batting position was dropped too low, and he was reduced to just a slogger”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif believes wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Haris was “reduced to just a slogger” as he was batting too low down the order.
Haris was picked ahead of Mohammad Rizwan, Usman Khan, and Haseebullah Khan for the 2025 Asia Cup, where he scored 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.
However, once again, the 24-year-old came under scrutiny for his lack of consistency with the bat, which ultimately led to him being dropped from the T20I squad for the three-match series against South Africa and T20I tri-series against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe.
Latif pointed out that limited overs head coach Mike Hesson paid particular attention to Haris’ batting average when explaining why the youngster was axed from the team.
Expanding on the point, Latif asked whether Haris earned selection for his average or his strike-rate, particularly in light of the other players he was chosen over.
“Haris was encouraged to play modern-day cricket and was picked ahead of Rizwan, Usman, and Haseeb. But once in the team, his batting position was dropped too low, and he was reduced to just a slogger. Now the coach says his average is 17, but was he selected for his average or his strike-rate?” he was quoted as saying by Geo Super.
During his time away from the Pakistan team, Haris featured in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy (QeA Trophy), which is Pakistan’s first-class competition, and amassed 534 runs in nine matches for Peshawar Region, which included a hundred and four half-centuries, at an average of 38.14.
Despite his solid performance in the QeA Trophy, the Peshawar-born batsman was not included in Pakistan’s team for the upcoming three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka, which will be played in Dambulla from January 7 to 11.
Pakistan Squad for Sri Lanka T20I Series: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmad, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Nafay (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Nawaz, Salman Mirza, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (wicketkeeper), Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan (wicketkeeper), Usman Tariq