Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi was disappointed by pacer Haris Rauf’s decision to skip the Australia Test series and instead play in the Big Bash League (BBL 13). Pakistan has lost the first two Tests of the three-match series against Australia and lost the series as well.
Haris Rauf has played only one Test, against England and he suffered an injury after bowling 18-odd overs. While new PCB chief selector Wahab Riaz wanted Rauf to go to Australia for the Test series, the pacer pulled out citing mental fatigue and physical exhaustion. However, later the PCB permitted him to play four games in the ongoing BBL 13.
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Pakistan's fast bowlers were greeted with a lot of criticism after they were unable to generate decent speeds in the series against Australia. Pakistan currently have Shaheen Afridi, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Aamer Jamal and Hasan Ali in their pace department after Khurram Shehzad was ruled out following the Perth Test.
Shahid Afridi said that Rauf would have been a key part of the Pakistani pace attack on pitches that has offered a lot of assistance to the fast bowlers.
"I think Haris [Rauf] should be part of this side instead rather than [the BBL]. In these conditions, the kind of pace he has, he would have performed well and enjoyed himself on the kinds of pitches Australia prepared in Perth and here," Shahid was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.
Afridi also stated that despite the decline in speed, he did not believe Shaheen was injured, and that Pakistan needed to invest in depth rather than individuals.
"I've never got the impression that Shaheen has an injury. If you're injured you can't play as a fast bowler. He knows his responsibility and how important he is to the team. The fast bowlers, we are expecting a lot from them because they've done well in the past. Babar, Rizwan, Shaheen etc. have performed so well we expect them to perform in every match. Relentless consistency is challenging in cricket," Afridi added.
Rauf has taken 6 wickets in 4 matches for Melbourne Stars in the BBL 2023-24.
(India Today inputs)
