Haris Rauf has been ruled out of the second Test in Multan, with his participation in the series in doubt. The 29-year old, who made his Test debut in the ongoing match against England, stepped on the ball while fielding, leading to an injury in his right quad.
Rauf was sent for MRI scans, and did not take the field for the rest of the game. While he did bat in the first innings, he did not bowl again. He endured a forgettable debut, conceding 78 runs in 13 overs, and was the most expensive fast bowler on the first day.
Rauf’s injury, coupled with Shaheen Afridi’s unavailability this series potentially opens the door to Pakistan calling up a fast bowler from outside the 18-man squad initially named for this series. Mohammad Wasim Jnr is the only other specialist in that group, but in Hasan Ali and Mohammad Abbas, Pakistan have options to turn to from outside those ranks.
Wasim’s inclusion would mean yet another debut for a Pakistan player this series, with four new caps handed out in Rawalpindi. As such, the experience the likes of Abbas and Hasan provide could be factors favouring their involvement. Mohammad Ali and Zahid Mahmood, too, had indifferent games, with the legspinner Mahmood conceding 235 runs in the first innings, the highest ever for a debutant. He did pick up four wickets though.
That means a like-for-like replacement for Rauf is possible, though whether Pakistan choose to go into their second successive Test without an established allrounder remains an open question. Faheem Ashraf and Mohammad Nawaz are both part of the squad, and picking either would invariably lead to a rejig of the side’s balance in Multan. In Rawalpindi, Pakistan went with four specialist bowlers, though that elongated a tail that had Rauf himself coming in at No. 8, with Naseem, Ali and Mahmood to follow.
This article was originally published by Espncricinfo.com. Read the original article here.