"This will hurt Pakistan cricket" - Chief selector Wahab Riaz blasts Haris Rauf for opting out of Test series vs Australia
Pakistan's newly appointed chief selector, Wahab Riaz, launched a scathing attack on Haris Rauf for opting out of the Test squad for the tour of Australia.
Following the announcement of the 18-member squad for the Test series, Wahab shifted his focus to Rauf's non-selection and stated that it could hurt Pakistan cricket.
Led by newly appointed Test captain Shan Masood, Pakistan will take on Australia in three Tests, starting in Perth on December 14.
On his first press conference since becoming the chief selector, Wahab remarked Rauf initially agreed to play Tests for Pakistan before opting out at the 11th hour.
"We spoke to Haris Rauf for this tour. When we spoke to him two days ago, he gave his consent to play Test cricket for Pakistan. But last night he changed his mind, and now he doesn't want to be part of this Test series. I think this will hurt Pakistan cricket. I'm revealing this because we should be honest with officials, team-mates, and the public," Wahab said.
While ESPNCricinfo stated that a source close to Haris Rauf vehemently disagrees with Wahab's disclosure. He views the conversation differently, Wahab spoke about his discussion with the right-arm pacer.
"We spoke to Haris and he was worried about his body and fitness, as well as his workload. Mohammad Hafeez and I sat with him and tried to facilitate him in every way. We told him even if he didn't perform well there, we would accept it. Our physio spoke to him and said he wouldn't expect any issue or injury. Of course there's fatigue, but we were sure we could have managed that very well. But he pulled out at the last moment and he made himself unavailable," Wahab stated.
However, the source stated that Haris Rauf never committed to playing the Test series in Australia, and confirmed his non-availability the previous night.
Rauf has only played the solitary Test for Pakistan in his career against England last year and had a dismal outing with figures of 1/78 in 13 overs. He is coming off a horrendous 2023 World Cup campaign, picking up 16 wickets at an average of over 33 and an economy rate of 6.74.
"We weren't demanding more than 10-12 overs a day" - Wahab Riaz
Wahab Riaz continued his criticism of Haris Rauf by stating that the demands from the pacer were minimal. He also called for the players to sacrifice to play for the country.
The 30-year-old suffered an injury during his lone Test against England and did not feature in Pakistan's Test squad in the subsequent red-ball series. However, the absence of the injured Naseem Shah and the Australian conditions caused Wahab to consider Rauf in the Test squad.
"I just told you a short version of what Haris and I spoke about. We spoke to the captain and coach, and we said we view Haris Rauf as an impact bowler. We weren't demanding more than 10-12 overs a day," said Wahab.
The former left-arm pacer added:
"The only issue is when you say you're available for Pakistan, especially at a time when our three main high-pace bowlers, who can bowl over 140 [kph] other than Haris are unavailable. At some point, you need to sacrifice to play for your country. Haris was committed to us, and pulled out after two days," stated Wahab.
Wahab Riaz concluded by stating that Rauf's opt-out will not hamper his selection in the white-ball formats.
Pakistan are coming off a disappointing 2023 World Cup campaign, where they finished fifth and did not qualify for the semi-final. Babar Azam relinquished Pakistan captaincy duties, leading to Shan Masood's appointment as Test captain and Shaheen Afridi as the T20 skipper.