Rauf should be in Pakistan Test side, says ex-captain Afridi

Staff Report

 KARACHI: Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi said fast bowler Haris Rauf should be playing in the three-Test series against Australia, where conditions would suit him, instead of the Big Bash League (BBL). White-ball specialist Rauf, who has played only one test and nine first-class matches in his career, turned down an offer to be part of Pakistan’s tour of Australia and opted instead to compete for the BBL’s Melbourne Stars. Players stand to earn more from franchise cricket than international cricket, with Australia’s Big Bash League a particularly enticing prospect for Pakistan’s cricketers, who are banned from the lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL). After a brief standoff with Pakistan’s cricket board (PCB), Rauf was given permission earlier this month to make a limited appearance in the BBL, in which the 30-year-old has played four matches and taken six wickets. “I think Haris should be part of this side instead, rather than (the BBL),” Afridi, who led the country in test cricket, one day internationals and T20 between 2009 and 2016, told reporters on the sidelines of the second Test in Melbourne on Friday. “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.” The third and final Test of the series will be played at the Sydney Cricket Ground from Jan. 3.