It was a day to remember for two upcoming Pakistan pacers in the form of Salman Irshad and Haris Rauf as they got an opportunity to bowl to Virat Kohli and the Indian team at Sydney.
Irshad and Rauf represent Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) and were discovered from the Rising Stars’ program run by the franchise in 2017.
The two youngsters are currently in Australia as part of the Qalandar’s player development program and on Wednesday, they were invited to bowl to the Indian batsmen in the nets.
Kohli and India are getting ready to take on Australia in the final Test which gets underway at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Thursday.
Both the bowlers took turns to bowl in India’s net session on Wednesday while getting the opportunity to bowl a few deliveries to Kohli too.
Two fast bowlers of Lahore Qalandars, Salman Irshad and Haris Rauf done with a net practice session with Indiam Team. Salman Irshad has given some deliveries to Indian Captain Virat Kohli.@TheRealPCB @thePSLt20 @lahoreqalandars @Salman150kph #HarisRauf @imVkohli #Australia pic.twitter.com/POBJdtv4kZ
— News99 (@News99P) January 2, 2019
Lahore Qalandars's fast bowlers Salman Irshad and Haris Rauf done a net bowling session with Indian Team in Aus.
— Anas Saeed (@anussaeed1) January 2, 2019
Salman Irshad bowls to Virat Kohli.
Both Lahore Qalandars's boys are playing Club Cricket in Australia.@Salman150kph @lahoreqalandars @imVkohli #MainHoonQalandar pic.twitter.com/r3ZQqwdA7d
The Rawalpindi-born Rauf can generate some serious pace and grabbed eyeballs by clocking over 148kmh with the ball in the inaugural Abu Dhabi T20 held in October last year.
Irshad, on the other hand, is on his second visit to Australia and was a part of the Qalandars’ Rising Stars squad which took part in quadrangular series Down Under in 2017. The pacer’s impressive displays in that tournament saw him earn a stint with Australian club Hawksberry CC subsequently.
Both the bowlers were delighted to rub shoulders with Kohli at Sydney and made sure to get themselves a picture with the India skipper. With bilateral cricket relations between arch-rivals India and Pakistan still remaining at a standstill, it is heartwarming to see cricketers from both sides mingle in such manner.
Rauf and Irshad will be now hoping to make their mark in the fourth edition of the PSL which gets underway on February 14 in the UAE.
