Aaron Finch, Michael Clarke surprised by Haris Rauf’s exclusion from T20 World Cup

KARACHI: Former Australian captains Aaron Finch and Michael Clarke have expressed surprise over Pakistan pacer Haris Rauf's exclusion from the national squad for the upcoming ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026, despite his exceptional performances in the recently concluded Big Bash League (BBL) 15.

Rauf, who was the leading wicket-taker in BBL 15 with 20 wickets in 11 matches, failed to secure a spot in Pakistan's T20 squad for the mega-event, which will be held in India and Sri Lanka from February 7 to March 8.

During a recent discussion on a local sports platform, Finch voiced his astonishment at Rauf's omission, emphasising the importance of impact players in T20 cricket who can turn a game around in an instant.

"Yeah, I thought... I was really surprised when I saw that he wasn't in the squad. I thought he brings that X-factor," Finch said.

The 39-year-old further explained his view, highlighting the value of wicket-taking options at all stages of a T20 match, even if they can occasionally be expensive.

"Yes, he can be costly at times, but when you've got a genuine wicket-taker in all three phases of the game, that is the most important thing for me in T20 cricket — finding a way to get wickets, particularly on some flat surfaces as well. So, yeah, I was really surprised by that," he added.

Meanwhile, Clarke said that the right-arm pacer must have been taken aback by the decision, suggesting it reflects the selectors' strategy of choosing players based on conditions and specific roles rather than domestic league performances.

"Surprised, but again, it's another indication that playing in Australia is very different from playing in Sri Lanka and India. You pick your squad for conditions, for the role you're going to play in that team. So they obviously don't see him playing a role like he did in the BBL," Clarke said.

The 44-year-old also underlined the importance of current match practice and momentum when selecting a squad for a major ICC tournament, noting that form plays a key role in selection.

"But I think form is important as well. When you're picking a World Cup squad, you'd rather have players going into the tournament with some cricket and good form under their belt. So let's see what happens," he added.

For the unversed, under the ICC's 'Fusion Formula', Pakistan will play all of their matches in Sri Lanka, as teams from Pakistan and India will not tour each other's countries for ICC events during the stipulated period and will instead compete at neutral venues.

If Pakistan progress to the semi-finals and final, both knockout matches will be staged in Colombo. Otherwise, the semi-finals and final will be held in Kolkata and Ahmedabad respectively.

The 2009 champions will begin their World Cup campaign against the Netherlands on February 7 in Colombo, followed by matches against the USA on February 10, arch-rivals India on February 15 and Namibia on February 18.

The Super Eight stage is scheduled to run from February 21 to March 1, with matches split between Colombo and Kolkata.

The first semi-final will be played on March 3, the second on March 5, while the final is set for March 8 in either Ahmedabad or Colombo.

Pakistan T20 World Cup squad:

Salman Ali Agha (c), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Mohammad Nafay (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan (wk) and Usman Tariq.