LAHORE: Pakistan chi­ef selector Wahab Riaz, who had slammed fast bowler Haris Rauf for opting out of the Test series in Australia, has now defen­ded the NOC given to him to play in the Big Bash League.

Wahab, while announcing the Pakistan Test squad for the series last month had criticised Haris for not making himself available for selection for the three games in Australia.

While talking to media on Saturday, Wahab stated that the PCB has orchestrated this NOC to ensure Haris remains in optimal form in the lead up to the T20 series in New Zealand.

“From now until the New Zealand series, there is a gap of 1.5 months during which Haris Rauf isn’t playing any cricket,” Wahab was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India news agency. “His contract with Cricket Australia for the Big Bash comprises only five games.

“This will cover his five Big Bash matches so that he can then travel with the Pakistan team for the New Zealand tour. This is the science behind giving him the NOC,” Wahab explained.

Wahab’s comments on the pacer signalled a contrasting change in his stance after he had criticized Haris over pulling out of the Australia series at the last minute.

Interestingly, Wahab at his November 20 presser had claimed that as a policy in future only those players would be considered who gave preference to play for the country.

“Any player no matter who he is or how big a player is, if he is not giving priority to the Pakistan team then he will not feature in our future plans,” he had added.

Published in Dawn, December 11th, 2023