PCB restores Haris Rauf's central contract after written apology letter

Haris Rauf’s ordeal has found light at the end of the tunnel, as the Pakistan Cricket Board has restored his contract after he wrote an apology letter to the board. Rauf’s termination had come in the wake of him making himself unavailable for national duties citing workload issues. He withdrew from the Test series against Australia where the Pakistan team toured for a three-match series.

The issue garnered further air as the right-arm pacer was seen representing Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash League. PCB had terminated his central contracts and had put clauses against him representing franchise cricket, before issuing NOC in December ahead of BBL 13. Now, PCB chairman, Mohsin Naqvi has seen the brighter side, and Rauf has taken note of his mistake and apologised. 

“After receiving his written reply the board has decided to restore his central contract. So we have decided to restore his central contract. We are also worried about Haris Rauf’s fitness because he was injured during the PSL and we need to take proper care of him,” said Naqvi as quoted by Sportstar.

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Rauf’s Test cricket numbers are negligible for red-ball headstart

It is worth noting that, the 30-year-old was always viewed as a white-ball specialist. The fact could be further asserted as he has played only nine first-class matches in his career. Moreover, he has represented Pakistan in only a lone Test which was played against England. During this, he bowled just 13 overs and sustained a quad injury that ruled him out of the remainder of the series.

He had a forgettable World Cup 2023 in India. The pacer looked out of his usual elements as he was thwarted game after game by the batters. He even set an unwanted record for himself, as he became the bowler to concede most number of runs in a World Cup edition. He became the first bowler to splurge over 500 runs and went on to overtake the record held by English spinner Adil Rashid.