Australia vs Pakistan Test squad, Haris Rauf prioritises Big Bash League, Melbourne Stars, video

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Former Pakistan captain Mohammad Hafeez has reiterated that contracted players should prioritise international duties over T20 franchise leagues in the wake of Haris Rauf’s decision to turn down selection for the upcoming Test series against Australia.

Rauf, who has played one Test and nine first-class matches in his professional career, caused a stir last week by choosing to miss this summer’s tour of Australia so he could participate in the Big Bash League, a decision national selector Wahab Riaz panned.

“(Rauf) pulled out at the last moment and he made himself unavailable,” Riaz told reporters last week.

“I think this will hurt Pakistan cricket.“

However, Rauf is at risk of missing the Melbourne Stars’ season opener against the Brisbane Heat at the Gabba on December 7, with the Pakistan Cricket Board expected to delay the No-Objection Certificate he requires to participate in the league, ESPNcricinfo reports.

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During a press conference in Lahore on Tuesday, team director Hafeez stressed that once a cricketer has accepted a central contract, they should be available for international commitments across all formats throughout the year.

“If an individual thinks he doesn’t want to play red-ball cricket, that is an individual act,” Hafeez said on the eve of the team’s departure for Australia.

“The central contract was given on the basis that all players will be available for all formats if we need them. In the Haris Rauf case, he has shown unavailability for red-ball cricket, so with central contracts any decision will be taken keeping Pakistan’s FTP commitments in mind and that is how it will be decided who we give what contracts to in what category.

“First of all, the priority is Pakistan representation. After that comes everything else. All centrally contracted and domestic contracted players, for all of them the priority is Pakistan.

“What I understand is that when you are offered a central contract for Pakistan, there is a strong reason you’ve been offered it. The point of offering it to the 20-25 players, with Pakistan’s FTP commitments in three formats in mind, is to play them, is that they are available for it.”

Haris Rauf of the Stars. Photo by Will Russell/Getty Images
Haris Rauf of the Stars. Photo by Will Russell/.Source: .

The drama surrounding Rauf has reignited the T20 debate that will become increasingly prominent in world cricket over the coming years; more cricketers have been tasked with choosing between international duties and high-paying franchise leagues as the sport’s calendar is crammed with lucrative domestic tournaments.

For example, Rauf could be representing the Stars on December 26 at the SCG a couple of hours after day one of the Boxing Day Test between Australia and Pakistan in Melbourne.

The Stars retained Rauf as a gold signing in the second round of September’s BBL Draft. The 30-year-old became a cult hero for the Melbourne-based club after bursting on the scene during the 2019/2020 summer, when he claimed a hat-trick against the Sydney Thunder at the MCG and finished as the team’s leading wicket-taker of the tournament.

Rauf has snared 30 wickets at 16.40 for the Stars – no cricketer has taken more BBL scalps at a lower average than the right-armed quick.

Earlier this month, England young gun Harry Brook, signed by the Stars as the No. 2 Draft pick, withdrew from the upcoming BBL due to international commitments; the club is yet to announce a replacement.

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Shaheen Shah Afridi will lead Pakistan’s pace attack in Australia this summer, but the visitors will be without fellow quick Naseem Shah, who suffered a shoulder injury ahead of the recent World Cup in India.

Mir Hamza, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali and the uncapped Khurram Shahzad round out Pakistan’s pace attack for the three-Test series, which gets underway at Perth Stadium on December 14.

“Pakistan are a very good team in their own right,” Australian coach Andrew McDonald told SEN on Tuesday.

“No doubt they will be coming down on the back of their World Cup disappointment, and I think they have had some coaching changes as well, so they will be structuring up slightly differently (but) they are an opponent who, if they get it right, they are very dangerous.”

Pakistan has never won a Test series on Australian soil, with its most recent victory being a 74-run victory at the SCG in November 1995.

“When there is an excitement in your challenge, when there is a nothing-to-lose opportunity and a lot to gain, you’re winning,” Hafeez continued.

“As a team our goal is not what history says but what we can go out there and achieve. The mindset is very clear – this is a very exciting challenge ahead of us and, together, we can bring better results. I can’t answer for past results, but from here on you will see inshallah (if God wills) better results for Pakistan.”

Pakistan will face the Prime Minister’s XI at Canberra’s Manuka Oval next week, with the four-day contest getting underway on Wednesday at 10.30am AEDT.

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