Daily Times

Pakistan’s fast-bowler Haris Rauf has caught the attention of the national team’s bowling coach and legendary former pacer Waqar Younis, who revealed, during an interview with PakPassion.net, that he had discussed the possibility of including the pacer into the side with the current head coach-cum-chief selector Misbahul Haq. Younis revealed that the pacer’s performances during the ongoing Big Bash League (BBL) had caught his interest and praised the level of pace Rauf is able to generate. “I watched him at the Pakistan Super League (PSL) and was impressed by him. He possesses pace, he’s a smart bowler who is aggressive which I really like about him and I’m really glad that he has done well at the Big Bash League. I’ve spoken to Misbahul Haq about him and we are thinking about bringing him into our pack of pace-bowlers, working with him and hopefully we can push him into the Pakistan team soon,” Younis said.

The 48-year-old claimed that the presence of Twenty20 (T20) leagues around the world was a major challenge as the players had to shift focus continuously from international cricket. “My concern and issue is that because there are three formats nowadays and there are a lot of T20 Leagues around the world, it’s very difficult even for the youngest cricketers to focus just on one format and just focus on international cricket,” he said. “It’s really difficult to deprive cricketers from earning a good living from T20 Leagues as that’s what they are entitled to do and that is their bread and butter.”

Younis however was excited about the young pace bowlers in Pakistan and claimed that he had discussed the possibility of financial assistance for players who focused on international cricket with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). “It’s a very exciting time when I look at the fast-bowling talent currently available, but I have spoken to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) about looking after the financial side of things for the players, so that they can focus on and prioritise playing for Pakistan rather than various league around the world,” he said.

The former right-arm pacer also believes that all-rounder Faheem Ashraf had the ability to help Pakistan in the Test side in the same vain as England’s star all-rounder Ben Stokes. “We wanted to have him around for the recent Sri Lanka Test series, but he was injured. We would love to have the luxury of an all-rounder in the Test team who can give us that fourth bowling option, especially when you have a young pace-bowling attack.

“Look at England with Ben Stokes who is batting at number 5 or 6 and is a complete bowling option. It’s very handy to have someone like Stokes in your Test team with both bat and ball and we are searching for that option,” he concluded.