'Haris Rauf Should Be Playing Tests Instead Of BBL' - Afridi

image-lqq4mz76Haris Rauf opted out of Pakistan Tests (Twitter)

Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi joined the bandwagon of prominent voices in the nation critical of pacer Haris Rauf for skipping the marquee Test series in Australia and instead plying his trade in the Big Bash League (BBL). 

Rauf triggered a debate within the Pakistan fraternity by deciding to take a break from Test duties for the three-match series Down Under. The express pacer, who was part of Pakistan's ICC World Cup 2023 campaign, opted out of the Test assignment to manage his workload and avoid physical and mental fatigue. 

However, chief selector Wahab Riaz and other big-name former cricketers didn't find it amusing when the right-arm seamer was then seen continuing with his Melbourne Stars association in the BBL, Australia's premier domestic T20 competition. 


Shahid Afridi Critical Of Haris Rauf 

He has since played four matches of the tournament for the club even as Pakistan fielded an understrength, inexperienced and short-of-pace attack for the first two Tests in Perth and MCG, further bolstering the noise and questions surrounding his priorities. 

"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," Afridi was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo. 

Afridi also denounced fitness and injury claims on Pakistan spearhead Shaheen Afridi while urging the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to invest more on developing options and depth for the senior national side to bank upon. 

"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." 


"I have always said that unless our bench is strong we won't be able to take the best decisions. The A team should be as strong as the main team, so if Shaheen or Babar or Rizwan aren't strong, we shouldn't have the excuses of players being unavailable, like we do with Naseem now. When our bench is strong, we will no longer have excuses," he added.