Pakistan pacer Haris Rauf faces being demoted in his central contract and could also be denied permission to play in the Big Bash League after pulling out of next month’s three-match Test series in Australia.
Rauf, whose contract carries a monthly retainer of more than 4 million Pakistani rupees, is among six players who were given “Category B” contracts before the World Cup squad leaves for India in September.
“Category A” has only three players including Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Afridi.
A reliable source said that some senior officials of the Pakistan Cricket Board were unhappy with Haris’ attitude as well as the statements made by his Lahore Qalandars coach Aqib Javed who defended the express bowler.
New Pakistan chief selector Wahab Riaz criticized Haris on Monday for first agreeing to be considered for Tests in Australia before making himself unavailable two days later, citing workload concerns and of physical fitness.
Wahab, himself a fast bowler who has appeared in three World Cups, made it clear that as a centrally contracted player, Haris should have been available for the Test series.
“Me and Pakistan team director Muhammad Hafeez went and spoke to him in detail and told him that the captain and coach wanted him (Haris) to play in Australia as he was a top bowler. impact and we assured him that he would. “I will not play more than 10-12 overs in a day in Australia,” Wahab had said in his press conference while announcing the squad for Australia.
“We also spoke to the team’s physiotherapist and coach and they told us that Haris had no fitness issues and there would be no issues with him in Australia,” said Wahab.
Hours later, sources quoting Haris in Pakistani media said he never made himself available for Tests and had told selectors he wanted to concentrate on white-ball cricket and manage his playing load. work.
But the source said the very fact that Haris did not directly make the denial convinced senior board officials that he was playing a game with the board and selectors.
“There have been discussions that if Haris is only focusing on white-ball cricket, then the central contact allocated to him also needs to be reviewed since he has been placed in Category B which carries a monthly retainer of more of Rs 4 million plus enhanced match fees, bonuses and a share of the PCB’s share of the ICC revenue.
“These players were allocated the first two categories which were considered as all-format players,” the source said.
He said the board could be expected to ask Haris for its final decision on red-ball cricket and review his contract. The player also has the option to become independent and return the central contract to the board like other international players including Trent Bolt. , Jason Roy, etc.
“An NOC for participating in the Big Bash could also be rejected by the board,” the source added.
The source said Hafeez and Wahab expressed disappointment over Haris’ attitude towards PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf.
Haris played a Test in December against England in Rawalpindi where he bowled only 13 overs before getting injured.
