England vs Pakistan, 3rd T20I – Haris Rauf on dislocated shoulder – “Injury rest is a blessing in disguise”

Top athletes may have everything at their disposal, but they often don’t have the time. No player in Pakistan cricket takes a voluntary break from cricket, except to play cricket elsewhere when the calendar clashes. Haris Rauf knows this better than anyone after he opted out of Pakistan’s Test series in Australia to play in the Big Bash, paid for by a central contract.

The idea of ​​a voluntary rest was fanciful as he tried to make amends with the cricket board, but events were left to take their course and he took an unfortunate dive in the final over of the PSL’s most-watched match, dislocating his shoulder. He was banned for three months and missed the remaining PSL matches, Pakistan’s domestic series against New Zealand and the away series in Ireland before finally returning to competitive action in Birmingham on Saturday.

Harris acknowledges that the break may not have been such a bad thing. “I’ve had some injuries over the last few months but if you have confidence in yourself, the break may have been a blessing,” he said at a press conference ahead of the third T20I between Pakistan and England in Cardiff. “It gives me time to recover and reassess my game plan. It’s good to be back in cricket and playing for your country makes you feel very proud.”

His return at Edbastan was solid, if unspectacular. He bowled best of the fast bowlers, taking two wickets for 34 in his allotted time, including a careless powerplay over for 17, Rauf’s weakest phase. For the rest of the time he bowled he maintained steady pace and accuracy, taking two wickets at less than one run per ball.

Pakistan ultimately fell just short. “It’s tough to lose a game but as a team we are confident,” he said. “We feel we can win anytime, against any opponent. We have won in the past. When we make mistakes we learn from them and try not to make the same mistakes again. We want to play better in the next few games and bounce back.”

“It’s a relaxed atmosphere in camp. We’re having fun. We’re following our game plan and trying to execute it well. We haven’t had great results lately, but if we go to plan, sometimes things go well.”

Rauf also spoke about the mental and physical struggles of returning from a long-term injury, especially for a fast bowler – a topic Naseem Shah also recently addressed. “It’s tough,” he says. “It’s hard during rehab and then when you come back it’s difficult to maintain that pace and accuracy. But if you believe in yourself, things become easier. When I wasn’t with the team and rehabbing, I had a lot of time to think about my game and work on myself. Thankfully, I’m back now and the World Cup is around the corner.”

Pakistan are trying to get as much match practice as they can ahead of the World Cup. In 2024, they will play 17 T20Is by the end of this series, in addition to the PSL. This includes experimenting with changes to the top order, bowling combinations and captaincy. Not everything has worked out, with a 2-1 win in Ireland being their only T20I series win since the 2022 World Cup.

Rauf acknowledges that winning the next two matches would give Pakistan much-needed confidence but insists that these matches are about much more. “Winning a series before the World Cup will give you confidence but even if we lose we can understand where we made mistakes and learn from it,” he said. “This series will be difficult but we will try to win it. Of course the focus is on the World Cup and we are looking to win it to make the country proud.”