Lahore Qalandars' owner Sameen Rana has admonished the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for terminating the central contract of Haris Rauf just days before the commencement of the Pakistan Super League (PSL).
Rana labelled the timing of PCB's decision to terminate Rauf's contract as "unnecessary", while deciding not to opine on whether he felt the cricket board made the right decision or not.
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In February 2024, PCB terminated Rauf's central contract after the right-arm quick decided to make himself unavailable for the three-match Test tour of Australia in December last year.
Last Saturday (February 24), Rauf was ruled out of PSL 2024 after the speedster dislocated his shoulder while completing a catch against Karachi Kings.
MORE: What is going wrong for Shaheen Afridi the captain?
What did Lahore Qalandars' owner say about the Haris Rauf and PCB conflict?
In an interview with ESPNcricinfo, Lahore Qalandars' owner Sameen Rana didn't mince his words while talking about the conflict between Rauf and the PCB, adding that the timing of the announcement put a spanner in the works for Qalandars' PSL 2024 campaign.
The timing of that announcement was wholly unnecessary. There was no Pakistan series coming up, or any emergency situation that necessitated the announcement two days before the PSL. Whatever the logic was, the timing was really bad. It was a huge blow psychologically for him, because his whole life's main aim is playing for Pakistan.
Rauf's our premier bowler, our highest wicket-taker after Shaheen Afridi. To publicly humiliate him and issue a press release announcing the termination of his central contract, I have never seen this happen anywhere. I would never treat my employees like that.
The employee at least has the right for you to call, email or message them. None of that happened with Rauf, and it was pathetic. It was really poor management.
What next for Pakistan cricket?
The last five months or so have seen Pakistan cricket go through a tumultuous phase. First, Babar Azam stepped down as the captain from all formats after Pakistan's humiliating group stage exit from the 2023 World Cup.
The controversy surrounding team director Mohammad Hafeez also played its part. Hafeez was appointed as the director of the Pakistan team immediately after Babar and Co. finished their World Cup campaigns.
However, Hafeez was sacked from his role exactly three months after his appointment, in February 2024. This occurred on the same day that Rauf's central contract was terminated.
A day later, Hafeez threatened to expose the Pakistan Cricket Board as he took to X (formerly Twitter) to narrate his side of the story.
Numerous other reports have made the rounds during the November 2023-February 2024 period, such as the inadequate fitness levels of the players and the national team players wanting to play more franchise cricket instead of focusing on international cricket.
Things are looking bleak for Pakistan cricket at the moment. Not only were they whitewashed 3-0 by Australia in Tests. but they also faced a 4-1 shellacking at the hands of New Zealand in January. Both those assignments came under newly-appointed captains.
With the T20 World Cup set to begin less than three months from today, it remains to be seen if things will improve for the Men in Green.
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