Wahab Riaz Issues Warning to Haris Rauf for Abandoning Tour

Wahab Riaz Issues Warning to Haris Rauf for Pulling Out of Australian Tour

Haris Rauf withdrew from the Test series against Australia, citing workload issues.

(Cricket News) Pakistani fast bowler Haris Rauf withdrew from the Test series against Australia, prompting head selector Wahab Riaz to warn players that failure to fulfill national obligations will result in their being benched.

“Two days ago, he (Haris) told us that he was available for the Test series, and last night he said he had worries over his workload and fitness issues, so he was not available,” said Riaz, a former fast bowler, alongside Muhammad Hafeez, the recently appointed director of the Pakistan team. “I and Hafeez spoke to him (Rauf) in detail and told him that both the captain and coach wanted him to play in Australia, as he was an impact bowler.”

“As a centrally contracted player, we felt he should not have taken a step back,” Riaz said. “We assured him that he would not bowl more than 10–12 overs in a day in Australia. We also spoke to the team physio and trainer, and they said Rauf had no fitness issues and there would be no problem with him in Australia.”

“We felt that with Naseem (Shah), Muhammad Hasnain and Ehsanullah unavailable due to injuries, Rauf, if he wanted to play for Pakistan, should have made a sacrifice and played for the team,” explained Riaz.

“Any player, no matter who he is or how big a player he is, if he is not giving priority to the Pakistan team, then he will not feature in our future plans,” he added. Riaz stated that in the event that a few topline players were out of commission.

In order to increase the pool of players for the T20 World Cup the following year, Riaz stated that Naseem Shah would be available to bowl again at 50 to 60 percent after three to four weeks. “He is still in rehab recovering from his shoulder surgery,” he added.

Pakistan squad for the Australia series: Shan Masood, Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jr., Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Saud Shakeel, and Shaheen Shah Afridi.