Wasim Akram reacts to Haris Rauf’s decision to snub Australia Tests

Pakistan cricket legend Wasim Akram has reacted to speedster Haris Rauf’s decision to skip the upcoming three-match Test series against Australia.

Pakistan are scheduled to play three Test matches in Australia starting mid-December. Speedster Haris Rauf, however, won’t be part of the series after having withdrawn his participation citing workload and fitness concerns.

Speaking to journalists at the Kayo Sports’ summer of cricket launch event, Akram said that the right-arm pacer needs to play Test cricket if he wants to cement his legacy as a ‘great’.

However, the former pacer acknowledged that Rauf is widely considered a white-ball specialist, pointing out that Test cricket requires a substantially heavier workload than the 20-over format.

“That’s his decision. He’s a contracted player, so there’s a lot of controversies back home,” Wasim Akram said, adding: “There are some white-ball specialist cricketers in this day and age and if he thinks he’s not there as yet, then that’s his call”.

Emphasising the significance of Test cricket, Akram said: “Test is a big boy’s game at the end of the day. You’ve got to bowl eight-over spells. In T20 you bowl four overs and stand at fine leg. Piece of cake.”

“Test cricket is a long race, and if you want to be remembered as a great of the game, that’s where Test cricket comes in,” he added.

Last month, Pakistan selector Wahab Riaz claimed that Haris Rauf withdrew from the upcoming Test series citing workload and fitness concerns and wanted to play Big Bash League cricket with the Melbourne Stars.

The 30-year-old, who has only played nine first-class matches, made his Test debut against England last December, bowling 13 overs before sustaining a quad injury that ruled him out for the rest of the series.

Pakistan, which has not won a Test match on Australian soil since 1995, will be led by Shan Masood following Babar Azam’s resignation as captain.

Shan Masood got his captaincy tenure off to a promising start, scoring an unbeaten 201 against the Prime Minister’s XI at Canberra’s Manuka Oval this week.

Wasim Akram believes that while it will be a tough challenge for a new management and leader.

“It’ll be tough, the last time Pakistan won here was 1995,” said Akram. “New captain, new management. It will take some time. Ideally this is not the best tour for any young captain or your team to come into. It will be very tough for them”.