Haris Rauf: “Shaheen Afridi is a leader, he’s a fighter. Shaheen wants us to fight till the last ball as captain”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan seamer Haris Rauf has praised ODI captain Shaheen Shah Afridi for his strong leadership qualities and unwavering never give up attitude.
He revealed that since taking over as skipper, Afridi’s core message to the team has been to “fight till the last ball”.
The men in green have enjoyed a strong run of form in ODIs recently, securing a 2-1 series win over South Africa and a dominant 3-0 whitewash against Sri Lanka.
“Shaheen Afridi is a leader, he’s a fighter. Shaheen wants us to fight till the last ball as captain,” Rauf was quoted as saying by journalist Farid Khan on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Both Rauf and Afridi missed Pakistan’s recent T20I tour of Sri Lanka as they were taking part in the Big Bash League (BBL).
Rauf played for the Melbourne Stars and currently is the highest wicket-taker in BBL 15 with 20 wickets in 11 matches at an average of 16.75 and an economy rate of 8.23.
As for Afridi, he claimed two wickets in four games for the Brisbane Heat at an average of 76.50 and an economy rate of 11.19. Unfortunately for him, his campaign was cut short by a knee injury.
Pakistan’s next assignment will be a three-match T20I series against Australia, which will take place in Lahore from January 29 to February 1.
Afridi found a place in the side, but Rauf was not selected.
Pakistan Squad for T20I series against Australia: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Nafay (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Nawaz, Salman Mirza, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (wicketkeeper), Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan (wicketkeeper), Usman Tariq