Pakistan pacer Haris Rauf faces the risk of being downgraded in his central contract and could also be denied permission to play the Big Bash League after opting out of next month’s three-match Test series in Australia.
A source said some senior officials in the Pakistan Cricket Board were unhappy with Haris’ attitude and also over the statements made by his Lahore Qalandars coach Aqib Javed, who defended the express pace bowler.
Pakistan’s new chief selector Wahab Riaz hit out at Haris on Monday for first agreeing to be considered for the Tests Down Under and then making himself unavailable two days later, citing workload and fitness concerns.
Wahab, himself a fast bowler who appeared in three World Cups, made it clear that being a centrally contracted player, Haris should have been available for the Test series.
“I and the director of Pakistan team, Muhammad Hafeez, we went and spoke to him in detail and told him that both the captain and coach wanted him (Haris) to play in Australia as he was an impact bowler and we assured him he would not bowl more then 10-12 overs in a day in Australia,” Wahab had said at the news conference while announcing the squad for Australia.
“We also spoke to the team physio and trainer and they said Haris had no fitness issues and there would be no problem with him in Australia,” Wahab said.
Hours later, sources quoting Haris in the Pakistan media said he had never made himself available for the Tests and had told the selectors he wanted to focus on white ball cricket and manage his workload.
