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“The medical panel, after consultation, concluded that he needs four to six weeks to recover, forcing him to miss the PSL season,” the Qalandars said in a statement.
Rauf injured himself off the second last ball of a tight game, taking a tumbling catch running in from long-off to dismiss Hasan Ali. Rauf took the catch cleanly and rolled forward awkwardly, immediately in pain. It couldn’t prevent a fourth successive loss for the defending champions, though Rauf had a good game with the ball.
He picked up 1 for 22 from his four overs, a welcome return to form after a tough start. Rauf had been going at 11 runs per over before last night’s game and had only picked only two wickets in those.
The injury caps a difficult few months for Rauf on and off the field, the first since he burst on to the scene with Qalandars. He had a poor World Cup in India, struggling to make an impact as Pakistan failed to get out of the group stages. That form was somewhat rectified in New Zealand where he took seven wickets in a 4-1 series loss for Pakistan, but went at 10.61 per over.
By then, however, he was already in the midst of a faltering relationship with the PCB. He had turned down the opportunity to play in Pakistan’s Test series in Australia before the New Zealand games, irking chief selector Wahab Riaz and then team director Mohammad Hafeez. Rauf said he wanted to concentrate on his white-ball game and had a contract with the Melbourne Stars in the BBL. After a delay, the PCB granted him an NOC to play in the league, but only until he had to join the Pakistan side in New Zealand.
Despite his recent form Rauf’s absence will be a big loss to an already faltering Qalandars side. They are missing the services this season of Rashid Khan, the Afghan superstar who has been central to their success in recent seasons. Though the T20 World Cup is still three months away, the timeline on his return means that Rauf will be in a race against time to ensure he gets a proper run-in to the event.
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