Shaheen’s absence will hurt Pakistan during England Tests: Rauf

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan pacer Haris Rauf believes that absence of Shaheen Afridi will hurt the home side in the upcoming Test series against England, which begins on December 1 in Rawalpindi.

However, Rauf, who is part of Pakistan’s Test squad for the series, also believes that the rest of the bowling attack can step up in Shaheen’s absence.

“Shaheen’s absence will hurt Pakistan’s bowling attack,” Rauf said while speaking to Geo News in an exclusive interview.

“However, the rest of the bowlers are also confident ahead of the series,” he added.

The right-armer is also eager to make his Test debut during the upcoming series.

“Getting Test cap is important for every player. I will perform to the best of my ability, if I make my debut in the first Test,” he said.

“The bowling mindset is different in red-ball cricket as compared to white-ball matches. I’m practicing while keeping this in mind,” he added.

Rauf also opened up about England’s aggressive style of cricket in the longest format of the game.

“We know that England like to play aggressive cricket and we are preparing accordingly in order to tackle it during the series,” he said.

After the first match in Rawalpindi, the second Test moves to Multan starting on Friday, December 9, and the final Test of the tour will take place at the National Stadium in Karachi, commencing on Saturday, December 17.

Squads

Pakistan: Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Azhar Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Naseem Shah, Nauman Ali, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Saud Shakeel, Shan Masood and Zahid Mehmood.

England: Ben Stokes (c), James Anderson, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ben Foakes (wk), Will Jacks, Keaton Jennings, Jack Leach, Liam Livingstone, Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root and Mark Wood.

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