Pakistan Cricket Board’s selection plans for the upcoming tours of Bangladesh and the West Indies have suffered a major setback, with pace sensation Haris Rauf likely out of both tours.
Haris Rauf reportedly suffered a hamstring injury during the San Francisco Unicorns’ recent win over the Texas Super Kings in the Major League Cricket season, a game in which he bowled only a single over. Further scans have confirmed that the right-armer will require several weeks of rehabilitation.
While the Unicorns have moved quickly to replace him with New Zealand left-arm seamer Ben Lister, the real challenges lie with the PCB. Haris Rauf was expected to spearhead Pakistan’s attack on their twin away tours later this month, with selectors viewing him as a critical component of the T20 strategy. His express pace and skill at the death have made him one of Pakistan’s most valuable limited-overs bowlers in recent seasons.
Haris Rauf was also returning to his old self during this year’s MLC, as he continues to lead the wicket-taking charts despite playing two fewer games than his teammate Xavier Bartlett, with both sitting on 17 wickets.
The timing of the setback is particularly frustrating for Pakistan’s management, who are looking to nail down the squad ahead of this year’s Asia Cup and the T20 World Cup next year.
With Haris Rauf sidelined, Pakistan is likely to add limited experienced pacers to the squad, which is expected to be announced today.
The tours will be crucial for Pakistan to test combinations and build momentum ahead of upcoming major tournaments, but they will now have to do so without one of their most experienced and explosive fast bowlers. However, when he returns, Haris Rauf is likely to be one of the first names on the team-sheet.