Pakistan to assess Haris Rauf fitness ahead of New Zealand ODIs

Shaheen Shah Afridi has also stepped up his rehabilitation under the guidance of Pakistan's medical team in Karachi

Pakistan fast bowler Haris Rauf will have his fitness assessed by the national team's medical staff, with the hope that he might be able to return to action for the ODI series against New Zealand next week.

Rauf hasn't played since injuring his quad during his Test debut against England at the start of December. He promptly missed the remainder of that series and hasn't been involved in the subsequent Test series against New Zealand.

A statement from the PCB explained that "the interim selection committee and team management have invited right-arm fast bowler Haris Rauf to be assessed by the team's medical staff so a decision on his availability for the three one-day internationals against New Zealand – to be played next week – can be made".

Shaheen Shah Afridi, meanwhile, has stepped up his own rehabilitation following his longstanding knee injury, which has troubled him since midway through 2022.

^{Afridi hasn't played since the T20 World Cup final (Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)}

As a result, he almost missed the T20 World Cup but was deemed fit enough to take part, before aggravating the issue in the final against England at the MCG. Until that point, he had looked below his best in any case, perhaps brought back prematurely, and he hasn't played since.

He is now under the guidance of Pakistan's medical team in Karachi, with the PCB stating that "this move will allow the medical staff to track his progression and pave way for his smooth return to action".

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