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Rizwan confirms that Rauf is completely healthy and ready for the Champions Trophy opener
Rizwan confirms that Rauf is completely healthy and ready for the Champions Trophy opener
Haris Rauf suffered a chest muscle strain in a tri-series match against New Zealand in Lahore.
Pakistan received good news before the Champions Trophy opener as their fast bowler Haris Rauf is expected to be completely healthy and ready to play against New Zealand, as confirmed by their captain, Mohammad Rizwan.
A couple of days ago Haris was able to bowl 6-8 overs and bowled fair in yesterday's match too as per the Captain in the Press conference on the tournament’s eve. He said he is bowling full of rhythm and he is working full time in the gym and not complaining about any pain. And they think that he is ready to play the match.
On the 8th of February, he faced some muscular pain while bowling for the Tri-series against New Zealand and was really trying to be fit at the start of the tournament. Meanwhile, he wasn’t able to play any match afterward, maybe because of caution that he might not get hurt more.
Following the press conference, Haris Rauf was spotted bowling in the nets during Pakistan's last practice session before the tournament at the National Stadium. This confirms Pakistan can field their preferred bowling lineup, featuring Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, and Rauf. The trio played together in a match against New Zealand in the opener of the tri-series, although they lost. They will face New Zealand again tomorrow in the Champions Trophy opener, as Pakistan gets ready to host their first ICC tournament since 1996.
Rizwan said that We endured 10 years without any teams coming to play here, but they worked hard to produce the best results. So they don’t have any doubts about their ability.
However, it's hard to ignore that Pakistan goes into their first game as the underdogs. New Zealand beat them twice in the tri-series, remaining undefeated throughout the tournament and winning the title. They showed their all-round strength by defending a total against Pakistan in one game and smoothly chasing totals against South Africa and Pakistan in others. Despite injuries to fast bowlers Lockie Ferguson and Ben Sears, New Zealand maintained their fast-bowling threat and controlled Pakistan in the middle overs with a mix of spinners.
"There are ups and downs and certain weaknesses on our side," Rizwan said. "We know we need to improve our professionalism and consistency."
They are trying to learn from the tri-series which is why they decided to bat first to know about their weaknesses. They are considering the series as they experience they gain and they really want to recover from these types of weaknesses and work well in today’s match.
Rizwan expressed his frustration about Pakistan coming close to winning but not quite making it. He said the team needs a little extra push to win big matches. He emphasized how hard the players are working and their strong desire to win the title. Rizwan, usually positive, showed an unusual intensity before returning to his normal cheerful self, talking about teamwork and valuing collective effort over individual success.
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