Abdur Rauf: “Haris Rauf thinks the public and fans are foolish. He says he cannot perform in every match, but in which ICC event has he ever performed?”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan cricketer Abdur Rauf has hit out at Haris Rauf over his comments about not being able to perform in every match, suggesting the express pacer “thinks the public and fans are foolish”.
Haris had argued that modern cricketers are under excessive scrutiny, insisting that supporters tend to fixate on a single poor performance even when a player has been delivering consistently over a period of time.
Abdur, however, took strong exception to those remarks and questioned when the 32-year-old has ever produced standout performances for Pakistan in major ICC tournaments.
“Haris Rauf thinks the public and fans are foolish. He says he cannot perform in every match, but in which ICC event has he ever performed?” he was quoted as saying by the Times of Karachi.
It is worth noting that Haris was left out of Pakistan’s squad for the 2026 T20 World Cup despite finishing as the leading wicket-taker in the recently concluded Big Bash League (BBL).
Representing the Melbourne Stars, the Rawalpindi native took 20 wickets in 11 matches at an average of 16.75 and an economy rate of 8.23.
Haris was also overlooked for Pakistan’s ongoing three-match T20I series against Australia in Lahore, where the men in green currently hold a 1-0 lead.
Once that series concludes, Pakistan will begin their T20 World Cup campaign, with their opening match scheduled against the Netherlands on February 7 in Colombo.
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
Pakistan Squad for 2026 T20 World Cup: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Nafay (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Nawaz, Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (wicketkeeper), Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan (wicketkeeper), Usman Tariq