Haris Rauf hopeful for Pakistan’s comeback in England series

CARDIFF: Pakistan’s right-arm pacer Haris Rauf expressed his confidence in the national team to force a comeback in the ongoing four-match T20I series against England.

The express pacer addressed a press conference here on Monday and revealed that the touring side is confident and will try to win the remaining fixtures heading into the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.

“Yeah, we lost one game but as a team, we are very confident and [will] try to win the next couple of games before the World Cup.

“As a team, we had a good practice session today and we played a lot of games in the past.

“Obviously, it is disheartening to lose a match but as a team we are confident and we can beat any opposition and we’ve done that a lot of times in the past.

“When you make mistakes, you learn from them and try not to repeat them. So, we’ll work on it and will try to perform well in the coming matches and make a comeback.”

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Haris Rauf further revealed the obstacles he faced amid his rehabilitation from a shoulder injury, which he sustained in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 9.

“The family support remains throughout your career. Making a comeback is not easy but if one has delivered performances in the past, it is not difficult for the team to select again,” Haris said.

“It’s hard for a player when he gets injured and comes back again for the game. It’s not easy because you are struggling a lot at that time. For an express bowler, you need pace so it’s not easy to maintain same pace and length after an injury. It’s hard for every player however belief in yourself makes the process easier,” he added.

Notably, England are currently leading the four-match T20I series 1-0 after defeating Pakistan in the second game in Birmingham. Meanwhile, the first match in Leeds was called off due to persistent rain.

The last match of the series will be played at the Oval in London on May 30, after which the Pakistan team will depart for the United States of America (USA) to partake in the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, starting from June 1.

The ongoing series will serve as a warm-up for both teams heading into the T20 World Cup 2024 as the previous edition’s finalists will skip the warm-up matches for this year’s mega event.

Pakistan squad:

Babar Azam (c), Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Rizwan, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Usman Khan.

England squad:

Jos Buttler (c), Phil Salt, Will Jacks, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Duckett, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Chris Jordan, Tom Hartley, Adil Rashid, Jofra Archer, Mark Wood and Reece Topley.

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