"Never seen this happen anywhere" - Lahore Qalandars owner blasts PCB's "pathetic" treatment of Haris Rauf

Lahore Qalandars' owner Sameen Rana on Sunday blasted the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for its "pathetic" decision to announce the termination of pacer Haris Rauf's contract hours before the start of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2024.

Saying he has "never seen this happen anywhere", he blamed it for derailing Rauf and the Qalandars' PSL campaign before it even started. The Qalandars are currently winless and bottom in the PSL 2024 standings and Rauf's season, after getting off to a rough start with just two wickets in four games, ended with a shoulder dislocation.

His contract was terminated on February 15, two months after he decided to skip Pakistan's Test series against Australia and chose to feature in the Big Bash League instead. The pacer had cited workload issues in his defence, drawing criticism from, among others, chief selector Wahab Riaz.

"The timing of that announcement was wholly unnecessary," Rana told ESPNcricinfo. "There was no Pakistan series coming up, or any emergency situation that necessitated the announcement two days before the PSL. Whatever the logic was, the timing was really bad. It was a huge blow psychologically for him, because his whole life's main aim is playing for Pakistan."

He added:

"Rauf's our premier bowler, our highest wicket-taker after Shaheen Afridi. To publicly humiliate him and issue a press release announcing the termination of his central contract, I have never seen this happen anywhere. I would never treat my employees like that. The employee at least has the right for you to call, email or message them. None of that happened with Rauf, and it was pathetic. It was really poor management."

In its announcement, the PCB also said it organised a personal hearing, where the pacer's responses were allegedly "unsatisfactory" and didn't offer any "medical report or justifiable reason" for his leave application.

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"If someone treats you like that, you can't pretend it doesn't affect you" - Sameen Rana on Haris Rauf

Rana added that the decision affected Rauf mentally, prompting the team to constantly try and motivate him throughout the tournament.

He said:

"I don't know what the PCB was thinking; I was on the receiving end. Haris was our premier fast bowler. If someone treats you like that, you can't pretend it doesn't affect you. Especially when it's your country, something you're emotional about anyway. And especially Haris, who is a naturally emotional person."

"It was an additional responsibility on me and the whole team to keep motivating him, and keeping him in the right frame of mind. He is a very strong boy, but again, a negative thought can creep into your brain. But unfortunately, after he seemed to be returning to form and performed brilliantly, he got injured. Of course we can't control that."

The Qalandars will face Islamabad United on March 6.