PAK vs AUS: Why did Haris Rauf miss first T20I in Lahore
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Haris Rauf is not part of Pakistan’s playing XI in the 1st PAK vs AUS T20I.
Pakistan Cricket Team are clashing with Australian Cricket Team in a three-match T20I series at home. The opening game commenced on January 29 (Thursday) at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, which is also the venue for the next two clashes.
Salman Agha is captaining Pakistan in the campaign, while Mitchell Marsh is the skipper of Australia. The visitors named their playing XI a few hours ahead of the encounter, naming Travis Head as the stand-in captain for the opening game.
Mitchell Marsh and Josh Inglis were rested from the encounter to manage their workload as they recently played for Perth Scorchers in the Big Bash League (BBL) 2025-26 final. Not only this, Australia are also without some of their few key members in Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Tim David and Glenn Maxwell in the series.
Coming to the first T20I, Pakistan captain Salman Agha won the toss and opted to bat first. As their team was revealed for the clash, one thing that caught the attention of many was Haris Rauf’s name not being there.
Revealed: Why Haris Rauf miss PAK vs AUS 1st T20I in Lahore?
The reason behind Haris Rauf missing the first PAK vs AUS 1st T20I in Lahore is that he has been dropped from the Pakistan T20I team. The fast bowler, who was the leading wicket-taker in the BBL 2025-26, didn’t make the cut into the side for the series against Australia as well as the T20 World Cup 2026.
Reports claimed that he was dropped owing to his poor performances for the national side as well as his poor fitness. He last played T20Is for Pakistan in Asia Cup 2025 in September. Meanwhile, below is Pakistan’s and Australia’s playing XI for the 1st T20I in Lahore.
Pakistan playing XI for 1st T20I: Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Salman Agha (C), Fakhar Zaman, Usman Khan (wk), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Salman Mirza, Abrar Ahmed.
Australia playing XI for 1st T20I: Travis Head (C), Matthew Short, Cameron Green, Matt Renshaw, Cooper Connolly, Mitchell Owen, Josh Philippe (WK), Jack Edwards, Xavier Bartlett, Adam Zampa,Mahli Beardman.
Who won the toss in PAK vs AUS 1st T20I?
Pakistan won the toss and opted to bat first in the clash.
Who is captaining Pakistan in the 1st T20I against Australia?
Salman Agha is captaining Pakistan in the first T20I against Australia.
How many T20I games will be played between Australia and Pakistan?
Three T20I games will be played between Australia and Pakistan.
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Vikas Singh Derek is a core cricket-lover since childhood and has always followed the sport both in his personal and professional life. He started his school life by watching cricket at home with family. Later, he played cricket on the field at local clubs during college. After his Master's in Journalism from Mumbai, he followed his passion by covering cricket news across various digital media. Since 2015, he has been an aspiring sports journalist and cricket content writer with over 50K+ articles.