Abdur Rauf: “You’ve played only two first-class matches and bowled very poorly. You people don’t even have the stamina to play five first-class matches”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan speedster Abdur Rauf has lashed out at fellow pace bowler Haris Rauf for not having the stamina to even play five first-class matches.
Haris has spoken of his interest of playing Test cricket in the future, even though he has only featured in one Test for Pakistan so far, which came against England in December 2022.
The 32-year-old recently competed in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy (QeA Trophy), taking four wickets in two matches for Islamabad Region at an average of 34.25, a performance Abdur dismissed as subpar.
“You’ve played only two first-class matches and bowled very poorly. You people don’t even have the stamina to play five first-class matches,” he was quoted as saying by the Times of Karachi.
Haris missed Pakistan’s recent T20I tour of Sri Lanka as he was involved in the Big Bash League (BBL), where he finished as the top wicket-taker with 20 wickets in 11 matches for the Melbourne Stars at an average of 16.75 and an economy rate of 8.23.
Despite his success in BBL 15, he was overlooked for Pakistan’s three-match T20I series against Australia in Lahore and the upcoming 2026 T20 World Cup.
Pakistan’s T20 World Cup campaign starts with a clash against the Netherlands on February 7 in Colombo.
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