Why Haris rauf selection is Questionable

Another express pace bowler from Rawalpindi. The last one Shoaib Akhtar bowled the fastest bowl in Cricket clocked at a speed of 161.3 km/h during the 2003 World Cup.

Haris Rauf is the talk of the town these days. Having picked up 16 wickets in 7 matches at an economy rate of 6.90 and an average of 11.60 including a fifer and a hat-trick in the BBL, Haris Rauf has forced his way into the Pakistani setup. Not bad for someone who was called up as a replacement for Dale Steyn. His video making rounds on social media about him coming back to Lahore from Australia and embracing his mother in a hug is emotional, to say the least. He was found in the Lahore Qalander Talent hunt program and started playing cricket with Tape ball like everyone else in our Country.

But his being selected for the performance in the BBL is questionable. His performance in T20 cricket is not extraordinary. He has 35 wickets in 25 Matches at an economy rate of 7.42. His Performance in the National T20 Cup 2019/20 is below par. He took 6 wickets at an economy rate of 8.58. He also does not have the experience that could help him out in a time of need as he has only played 3 FC matches and 4 List A matches. This in turn devalues the Pakistan cap. All you do is perform in one foreign league and voila you’re selected for the squad. While people who are grinding it out in Domestic Cricket don’t even get a mention.

Another reason is that the BBL is played with virtually no international players. Only two international players can play per team. This means that most of the players playing are from Australia only. And the lack of depth in Australian cricket was exposed when Smith, Warner, and Bancroft were handed bans by CA in the aftermath of the Sandpaper gate. An Asian nation(India) won its first Test series in Australia during this time and Australia’s record was not good at all.

I personally feel Haris should’ve played more Domestic Cricket, grinded it out there, gain experience then be selected for the team. Selecting him right now means he has to do most of his learning on the job. I do wish him the Best of Luck for the upcoming Bangladesh series.