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Former all-rounder Shahid Afridi crticised Haris Rauf for opting to play BBL over joining Pakistan. His statement came after Pakistan lost the second Test against Australia, which led to the latter extending their lead 2-0 in the Test series. Afridi was critical of the fast bowler’s choice as he pulled out of the series before the squad was announced while citing a desire to protect his body and manage his workload.
While the series was going on, the Pakistan speedster played four games for the Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash League in Australia. Given his speed, the former Pakistan player believes that the player would have done well in the given circumstances. He also said that Rauf would have enjoyed playing on the Australian pitches in Perth and Melbourne.
The 46-year-old was quoted by ESPNcricinfo as telling reporters at the MCG, "I think Haris [Rauf] should be part of this side instead rather than [the BBL]. 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."
Afridi also commented on Shaheen Afridi’s performance and said that he did not believe Shaheen was injured while suggesting that Pakistan needed to invest in depth rather than individuals. The 46-year-old said, "I've never got the impression that Shaheen has an injury. If you're injured you can't play as a fast bowler. He knows his responsibility and how important he is to the team. The fast bowlers, we are expecting a lot from them because they've done well in the past. Babar, Rizwan, Shaheen, etc. have performed so well we expect them to perform in every match. Relentless consistency is challenging in cricket.”
He further said, "I have always said that unless our bench is strong we won't be able to take the best decisions. The A team should be as strong as the main team, so if Shaheen or Babar or Rizwan aren't strong, we shouldn't have the excuses of players being unavailable, like we do with Naseem now. When our bench is strong, we will no longer have excuses.”