Haris Rauf Responds to Critics with Fiery Statement After Pakistan's 2nd T20I Loss

After yet another poor performance, Pakistani bowler Haris Rauf made a huge jab at his countrymen by claiming that it is quite popular in the country to criticize their players and that the people of the country wait to see them fail. For the Twenty20 International series against New Zealand, players like Babar Azam and Muhammad Rizwan were left off the roster. Consequently, the Green Shirts added Mohammad Haris and Hasan Nawaz as top-order hitters. 

Irfan Khan, however, was ranked number four. Despite the adjustments, the approach backfired badly since in the opening two games of the current series, the entire hitting lineup was unable to get going. Following their second loss, Rauf provided insight into the young batters' and the team's overall performance.

Haris Rauf slams critics:

Fast bowler Haris Rauf lashed out at the criticism directed towards young players.#HarisRauf#PakistanCricket VC PCB pic.twitter.com/kq6bujRj7z

— Sohail Imran (@sohailimrangeo) March 18, 2025

Some people back home are eager for Pakistan to lose so they can criticize the players, according to Rauf, who claimed to have taken two wickets with the ball. Rauf stated during the news conference held after the game. He said, “It is now a common thing in Pakistan to criticise players. These are young players who have been given an opportunity. If you look at the rest of the teams, the youngsters are given full freedom. They are given 10-15 games. When you first enter international cricket, you struggle. That goes without saying. It is now common in Pakistan. People are waiting to see us lose."

Speaking of the game, express pacer Haris Rauf had a respectable performance, taking two wickets in his allotted three overs while scoring 20 runs. Shaheen Afridi, who did bowl a maiden, was whacked all over the park by New Zealand, which proved costly. He ended up giving up 31 runs during his bowling session. Mohammad Ali, another bowler, was also destroyed after conceding 34 runs in two overs. Notably, the second T20I was shortened to a 15-over-a-side match because of the weather.

Tim Seifert and Finn Allen's fierce opening combination, in which seven of the first eight scoring shots were sixes, was the high point for New Zealand. Before Allen cleared the little University Oval boundary three times in the second over, which was bowled by Muhammad Ali, Seifert played out a maiden off Shaheen Afridi's opening delivery.

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