After meeting, Haris Rauf cleverly dodged media as he opted to leave through back exit instead of facing reporters
ISLAMABAD: (UrduPoint/UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News-March 6th, 2025) Pakistan’s fast bowler Haris Rauf met Defence Minister Khawaja Asif in Islamabad but avoided speaking to the media by leaving through the back door of the chamber.
According to the reports, the meeting took place at the Defence Minister’s chamber and lasted for two hours.
After the meeting, Haris Rauf cleverly dodged the media as he opted to leave through the back exit instead of facing the reporters. Initially, upon seeing media representatives outside, he returned inside the chamber.
The sources revealed that before leaving, Haris Rauf inquired whether the media was still present outside or had left.
Harif Rauf is part of Pakistan’s squad for New Zealand tour.
Two days ago, Salman Ali Agha was named Pakistan’s T20I captain, with Shadab Khan as vice-captain, for the five-match T20I series against New Zealand from 16-26 March. Mohammad Rizwan will continue as ODI captain, with Salman serving as his deputy for the three 50-over matches scheduled at the backend of the tour from 29 March to 5 April.
The decision to appoint Salman and Shadab as T20I captain and vice-captain, respectively, has been made with an eye on two major upcoming tournaments – the ACC Men’s T20 Asia Cup 2025 (September 2025) and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 (February/March 2026).
Salman previously led Pakistan in a T20I series against Zimbabwe last year, winning 2-1.
As part of preparations for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, Pakistan is set to play a minimum of five T20Is in the ACC Asia Cup 2025 and three T20Is each against Bangladesh (home, May), West Indies (away, July), Afghanistan (home, August), Ireland (home, September), South Africa (home, September/October), Sri Lanka (home, November) and Australia (home, January 2026).
Mohammad Rizwan will continue leading the ODI side as Pakistan builds towards the ICC Men’s 50-over cricket World Cup 2027, which will take place in Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe in October/November 2027.
Pakistan squads for New Zealand tour:
T20I squad – Salman Ali Agha (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Hasan Nawaz, Jahandad Khan, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Haris, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Omair Bin Yousaf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufyan Moqim and Usman Khan
ODI squad – Mohammad Rizwan (captain), Salman Ali Agha (vice-captain), Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Akif Javed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Imam-ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Sufyan Moqim and Tayyab Tahir. A wicketkeeper/batter will be added to the ODI squad following the T20Is
