After recovering from a shoulder injury that kept him out of play for more than two months, Babar Azam praised Haris Rauf’s level of conditioning. While competing for Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) earlier this year, the seasoned pacer sustained the injury.
Rauf had a poor ODI World Cup 2023 performance the previous year, giving up runs at a 6.74 economy rate. His core contract was cancelled ahead of PSL 2024 as a result of an investigation over his decision to not go with Pakistan’s Test team for their December–January tour of Australia. The excellent news was quickly followed by the shoulder ailment noted before, but eventually the contract was reinstated.
Pakistan’s captain for the Twenty20 team, Babar Azam, recognised that Haris Rauf would face pressure.
when he plays cricket competitively again this month during the England and Ireland series. But Rauf’s much-improved level of fitness astonished the talismanic hitter, who added that the 30-year-old is determined to succeed in his comeback.
“I didn’t think Harris Rauf would heal up so quickly, but his fitness has significantly increased. He is enthusiastic to compete and has a good outlook on his participation in the competition. He’s under pressure because of all the discussion about him, but I have faith in his ability to bounce back. “You can make quite an impact when you come back from a rest, both mentally and physically,” Babar stated during a news conference.
The Men in Green recently engaged in a home five-match Twenty20 International series against a subpar New Zealand team. Following the ODI World Cup 2023 fiasco, Babar resigned from his captaincy of the Asian superpowers, and this was his comeback series. A 2-2 draw marked the conclusion of the series against the Blackcaps.
Also read: Babar Azam believes Gary Kirsten can turn around Pakistan’s cricket fortunes, saying, “His presence should be beneficial for us all.”
Pakistan still has seven Twenty20 internationals to play before the upcoming Twenty20 World Cup kicks off on June 2. The 2009 winners will visit England for four Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) on May 22, 25, 28, and 30 after playing three T20Is against Ireland on May 10, 12, and 14. On June 6 in Dallas, they will play their opening game in the main event against the co-hosts, the USA.
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