"As if he incurred a loss in shares or someone robbed him" - Former Pakistan captain blasts Haris Rauf after loss to USA in T20 World Cup
Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt was not impressed with pacer Haris Rauf's antics on the field during their match against the USA in the T20 World Cup on Thursday (June 6). Having 15 runs to defend off six balls, Haris conceded 14, including a last-ball boundary which took the game to the Super Over.
The speedster was on his knees and had his hands on his head in disappointment. However, Butt felt the reaction was unprofessional as he believes the Pakistan players just do not learn from their mistakes.
Speaking on 'Cricket Baithak' podcast after the game, Salman Butt opened up on Pakistan's mistakes that led to their loss against USA. He said:
"He (Haris Rauf) has some weird style when he bowls a ball and just sits on his knees with his hand on his head. It is as if he incurred a loss in shares or someone robbed him. But that is so unprofessional. You never learn anything. They lacked common sense and game awareness."
Salman Butt shed light on the lack of bouncers tried by Pakistan pacers despite having large boundaries and thereby becoming predictable for the USA batters.
Not a surprise Haris Rauf conceded so many runs: Salman Butt
Salman Butt stressed on the final delivery where Haris Rauf bowled a low full toss, which was drilled down the ground for a boundary by Nitish Kumar. The former cricketer slammed the pacer for not bowling to his field as Shaheen Afridi was in the circle at mid-off.
On this, Butt stated:
"It is not a surprise that he conceded so many runs because he doesn't look at his field and bowl accordingly. Mid off is inside the circle and yet he bowls full and gets hit for a boundary on the last ball. You can see the captain also screamed at him. When you have mid-off up, then you don't bowl full balls. This is a basic of cricket."
Pakistan couldn't chase down 19 runs in the Super Over and have been handed a shock defeat by the hosts USA. It will be interesting to see how Babar Azam and his men turn this around when they meet India in their next fixture in New York on Sunday, June 9.