‘Haris Rauf Didn’t Want to be Part of Australia Series’ – Pakistan Chief Selector Wahab Riaz

Wahab Riaz, the newly appointed chief selector of the Pakistan Cricket Team, revealed that Haris Rauf has refused to be part of the Test squad announced for the upcoming Australia tour.

The Pakistan speedster, after initially giving his consent to Wahab Riaz, withdrew from the upcoming Australia Test series on the selection eve, citing workload as the reason.

Despite assurances from the medical team, Haris Rauf opted to withdraw from the series, a decision that, according to Wahab Riaz, may impact Pakistan’s prospects against Australia.

Here’s what Wahab Riaz said:

“We spoke to Haris Rauf about this tour 2 days ago, and he gave his consent to play Tests for Pakistan. However, he changed his mind last night and didn’t want to be a part of this Australia Test series. He was worried about fitness issues and workload.”

“We gave him assurances that we will facilitate him and accept any potential failures. Our physio said he has no injury concerns. He is fatigued, but we could have managed him well. However, he pulled out and is unavailable for this tour. I think this could hurt Pakistan cricket.”

Pakistan squad for Australia Tests:

Shan Masood (captain), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Saud Shakeel and Shaheen Shah Afridi