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Haris Rauf left out of T20 World Cup 2026 squad [Update@ post85]

Should Haris Rauf have been included in Pakistan’s T20 World Cup 2026 squad?

  • Yes, he deserves a spot.

    Votes: 4 12.1%
  • No, I don't back his addition to the squad.

    Votes: 29 87.9%

  • Total voters
    33
Rauf can be hit for six out of nowhere, against the run of play that's his biggest weakness .
 
He is at the age where he should be at the peak of his skills and speed but that is not true.

The pace has gone down from mid 150s to low 140s and the accuracy or skill was always non-existent. The batting skills never developed & while fielding is still okay, it is nothing special. His body also should be in a good shape because he didn't have to go through the grind of first-class or pathway cricket & has suffered no real major injury but it already feels that it's on the downward trend.

It is weird to say that his non-inclusion is beneficial to him at this stage of his career because the replacements would get carted around as well & all of a sudden the cricketing population of Pak will have collective amnesia and forget how average he is & will clamor to have him back in the team.
 
Fast bowler Haris Rauf has been left out of Pakistan’s 15-member squad for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026. The selectors opted for fresh pace options, including Salman Mirza and Usman Tariq, alongside Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah, marking a notable omission ahead of Pakistan’s opening game against the Netherlands on 7 February in Colombo.
 
SPEAKING DURING THE COMBINED PRESS CONFERENCE:

Mike Hesson on Haris Rauf’s exclusion:

“When we decided to only take three seamers, Wasim Jr. was certainly considered, but unfortunately, there was no spot for him. The three frontline seamers are Shaheen Shah Afridi, Salman MirzA, and Naseem Shah. These three are expected to play in Sri Lanka during the World Cup, given the extra seamer conditions and situations there. We decided to go with three frontline seamers plus an all-rounder, to balance the attack.”


Aaqib Javed speaking about Haris Rauf’s exclusion from the squad:

“We think about the conditions in which you are playing and what combination can be better in those conditions. Rauf has been playing for Pakistan for quite some time. But if you look at the recent past, a different combination has been developing. So, considering the conditions, since most matches are in Sri Lanka, we had to think about what the best bowling composition could be there. Keeping that in mind, this team has been selected.”
 
Former Australia captains Aaron Finch and Michael Clarke have voiced their surprise at Pakistan pacer Haris Rauf being left out of the national squad for the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, despite his outstanding performances in the recently concluded BBL 15.

Aaron Finsh:

"Yeah, I thought... I was really surprised when I saw that he wasn't in the squad. I thought he brings that X-factor," Finch said.

"Yes, he can be costly at times, but when you've got a genuine wicket-taker in all three phases of the game, that is the most important thing for me in T20 cricket — finding a way to get wickets, particularly on some flat surfaces as well. So, yeah, I was really surprised by that,"


Michael Clarke:

"Surprised, but again, it's another indication that playing in Australia is very different from playing in Sri Lanka and India. You pick your squad for conditions, for the role you're going to play in that team. So they obviously don't see him playing a role like he did in the BBL,"

"But I think form is important as well. When you're picking a World Cup squad, you'd rather have players going into the tournament with some cricket and good form under their belt. So let's see what happens,"
 
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