Pakistan's Harif Rauf, who made Rafale gesture and conceded 50 run in Asia Cup, seen flying kite, netizens say bowling ...

A video of Pakistan fast bowler Haris Rauf flying kites on a rooftop has gone viral on social media, drawing trolling from fans after he was left out of Pakistan’s T20 World Cup 2026 squad. In the clip, Rauf is seen enjoying the traditional pastime alongside teammate Hasan Ali, who is also out of favour.

While selecting the 15-member squad for the T20 World Cup 2026, the Pakistan Cricket Board ignored Rauf and Mohammad Rizwan but retained Babar Azam. The trio have played key roles for Pakistan in past ICC events, but this time the selectors showed faith only in Babar. Hasan Ali was already out of contention.

Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson said Rauf was considered but missed out due to the balance of the pace attack. “We considered Haris Rauf, Wasim Jr, and Ahmed Daniyal, but they couldn't make it because the other three Shaheen, Salman, and Naseem can bowl in all three phases,” Hesson said.


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Social media reaction to Rauf's kite flying video

Rauf had earlier served a two-match ban imposed by the International Cricket Council over a controversial gesture against India during the Asia Cup last year.


Pakistan began their T20 World Cup 2026 campaign with a three-wicket win over the Netherlands in Colombo on Saturday. Chasing 148, the Salman Ali Agha-led side nearly suffered an upset before a Netherlands fielding error gave Faheem Ashraf a reprieve, allowing Pakistan to seal the match with three balls remaining.

Pakistan’s T20 World Cup 2026 squad includes Salman Ali Agha (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khawaja Nafay (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Nawaz, Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan (wicketkeeper), and Usman Tariq.