The World Cup 2023 has been ended. Australia ended up being the winner. India faced a heartbreaking defeat in the final. Teams like Pakistan, Bangladesh, and England ended their World Cup journey at the knockout stage. After facing disappointments in the World Cup, Pakistan will be playing against Australia. They will face Australia in a test series. But Pakistani bowler Haris Rauf has become an issue in that matter:
The “Haris Rauf” Issue:
Pakistan had a hard time in the whole World Cup. After winning two initial matches in the tournament, they faced consecutive defeats. After their exit from the tournament, Pakistan cricket has gone through a lot of changes. Their cricket board has gone through changes. Babar Azam stepped down from captaincy and Shaheen Shah Afridi became the new white ball captain.
Pakistan is all set to play three test matches against Australia in December. On Monday, Pakistan’s Chief Selector Wahab Riaz announced an 18-member squad for the series. At that time, speculation was created over Haris Rauf’s participation in that test series. He said, “ Two days back he told us that he was available for the test series, and last night he said he had worries over his workload and fitness issues so he was not available.”
After that, he added, “ We assured him that he would not bowl more than 10-12 overs in a day in Australia. We also spoke to the team physio and trainer and they said Rauf had no fitness issues and there would be no problem with him in Australia. As a centrally contracted player, we felt he should have not taken a step back.”
Haris Rauf’s Answer:
After Riaz’s comment, a lot of discussion was going on that matter. Finally, Rauf came up with an answer. On his social media handle, he wrote, “ Few days back I was criticized and ridiculed for performing terribly in the World Cup, most of the social media experts wanted me to be dropped from the 50 overs white ball team but now suddenly they want me to play test cricket without any physical and mental preparation. Hypocrite.”
Further, he said, “ Test Cricket is not only about bowling 10-12 overs per day, you have to stay in the field for 90 overs a day, and in Australia, the weather is extremely hot during December. My body has been on the run from the last 6 months and would have broken down there for sure. Keep in mind that we have 5 matches T20 series coming up after the Australian tour.”
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