Pakistan's emerging batter Mohammad Haris is still unaware of the reasons behind his exclusion from the T20I squad for the upcoming five-match series against New Zealand, starting on January 12 in Auckland.
Despite the lack of clarity regarding his omission, Haris demonstrated resilience and optimism during a media event.
“Even I don’t know when and where I performed badly [in T20Is]. There are ups and downs. Sometimes, players in the backup perform better than you, so they deserve a chance. It is healthy competition and I hope to perform well in PSL and grab the opportunity,” Haris said.
Optimistic Haris regarded the situation as a wholesome competition, stating his resolve to display his skills and stage a robust comeback.
“I am not sad about being dropped as this is part of the game. These things make you stronger. I have gotten time to analyse my mistakes and improve my skillset,” Haris added.
Remember, chief selector Wahab Riaz emphasised that Haris has been strategically rested for this series, affirming his importance in the team's future plans.
“We have rested Mohammad Haris for this series. We know his capability and he is part of our plans going forward. There were some domestic performers in First Class cricket who we wanted to give a chance and increase our pool of players, so we rested Haris from this tour,” Wahab had said.
Full squad: Shaheen Shah Afridi (captain), Mohammad Rizwan (vice-captain and wicket-keeper) Aamir Jamal, Abbas Afridi, Azam Khan (wicket-keeper), Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah (wicket-keeper), Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Usama Mir and Zaman Khan
Full schedule:
1st T20 – 12 January 2024 at Eden Park, Auckland
2nd T20 – 14 January 2024 at Seddon Park, Hamilton
3rd T20 – 17 January 2024 at University Oval, Dunedin
4th T20 – 19 January 2024 at Hagley Oval, Christchurch
5th T20 – 21 January 2024 at Hagley Oval, Christchurch