Melbourne Cricket Ground October 2022- India needed 28 off 8 balls. Haris Rauf, with two wickets already to his name, had the ball in his hand and was bowling to Virat Kohli. Pakistan were heavily favoured to come out on top, but the next two balls resulted in two sixes, as Rauf looked on. India would go on to win the thriller. Pakistan would recover to reach the final of the tournament, however, the psychological damage to Rauf’s confidence lingered.
What was once a fiery and bold pacer turned into a shell of his former self. Wickets dried up and runs leaked all over the pitch. Pakistan’s premium fast bowler was struggling to keep his place in the team. Tournaments came and went by but Rauf couldn’t recover his magic touch after that fateful evening at the MCG. There were even calls and rumors of his retirement. It seemed the Rawalpindi-born pacer’s career would go down as quickly as it rose up.
But cricket, a game known as the great equalizer, would present Rauf with a shot at redemption. Let us look at Haris Rauf’s comeback arc which went through Sri Lanka, India, and the USA before he found himself at the very venue where he had lost it all.
Asia Cup ends abruptly for Haris Rauf
Asia Cup 2023 was the first big tournament he played after the ICC T20 World Cup 2022. He looked in a good rhythm as he picked 9 wickets in the first four matches of the tournament before he suffered “little discomfort in his right flank” in the match against India, ending his campaign early.
In the first match against Nepal, he picked up two wickets for 16 runs in his five-over spell, while in a rain-affected match against arch-rivals India that ended with no result, he picked up three wickets for 58 runs. In the next match against Bangladesh, he picked up 4/19 in six overs but in the fourth game against India, an injury meant his comeback was curtailed.
ODI World Cup failure
After a good start with figures of 3/43 against the Netherlands in the first match of the tournament, Haris Rauf conceded 43 runs for zero wickets in six overs against arch-rivals India. Australian batters hammered him for 83 runs, his most expensive spell in the World Cup came against New Zealand at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru. He conceded 85 runs in his ten overs, despite bagging 15 wickets in the tournament he became the fourth bowler that concede over 500 runs in a single edition of the ODI World Cup.
Rauf conceded 533 runs in the ODI World Cup 2023 at an economy rate of 6.74, Pakistan was eliminated in the group stage of the mega event with question marks over their bowling lineup. They entered the World Cup as one of the best bowling lineups but couldn’t perform accordingly.
Rauf couldn’t deliver in PSL 2024 as another injury halted his run
Haris Rauf had a good run in the last two editions of the PSL which led Lahore Qalanders to their two consecutive titles in 2022 and 2023. Rauf had a good chance in PSL 2024 to get back his form and rhythm in his home conditions but he was unable to capitalize on the opportunity. In the first match of PSL 2024, Rauf was smashed for 38 runs in his three overs at an economy rate of 12.66, in his second match against Quetta Gladiators he conceded 47 runs at an economy rate of 11.75 in his 4-over quota.
However, he bowled brilliantly against Karachi Kings conceding only 22 runs in his four overs but he was ruled out from the rest of the tournament due to a shoulder injury.
Disappointment in the T20 World Cup 2024
In the first match of the T20 World Cup 2024 against the USA he conceded only 22 runs in his first three overs but couldn’t defend 15 runs in the last over which was the lowest point in his recent form, Just a year ago, Rauf was considered as the prime pacer in the shortest format of the game for Pakistan still he struggled to defend 15 runs against an inexperienced USA side leading to an embarrassing defeat against the co-hosts, who were playing their first T20 World Cup.
However, he picked up 3 wickets for 21 runs against arch-rivals India in their second and most important match of the tournament, he also picked two and one wickets against Canada and Ireland respectively. But yet again Pakistan team was unable to qualify for the semi-final of the World Cup.
Trouble with PCB and retirement rumours
During Pakistan’s tour of Australia 2023/24 for three test matches, the Rawalpindi-born pacer made himself unavailable for the tour which triggered PCB, resulting in his exclusion from the central contract and NOC was not granted to Rauf until June 30, 2024. Rumors were that he was going to retire from international cricket after he was excluded from the central contract.
After being absent in the home test series against England, he was picked for the white ball series in Australia. That is where Rauf would regain his mojo.
Haris Rauf scripts comeback at MCG two years after lowest point
In the first ODI at MCG Pakistan was bowled out for just 203 runs. While chasing Australia was looking good at 139/4 in 20 overs until Rauf surprised Marnus Labuschagne with his pace and then took the outside edge of Glenn Maxwell on the first ball he faced and sent both the batsmen back to their shed. He also picked the wicket of the well-set Steve Smith who was playing on 44 runs. However, Pakistan fell short in the first ODI but Haris Rauf announced his comeback in style at MCG, where his downfall started two years ago. Rauf was once again unstoppable and would prove over the course of the tour.
In the second ODI, when Australia was recovering from two early blows Rauf once again broke the partnership destroyed the Australian middle order, and picked five wickets for 29 runs which helped Pakistan to win the first ODI in Australia since 2017. Rauf was awarded as the Player of the Match. In the series decider at Perth, Rauf sent the Australian opener Matthew Short back into the pavilion and once again Glenn Maxwell was unable to score a run against Rauf.
In his seven-over spell, he picked up 2 wickets for 24 runs and guided Pakistan to win their first ODI series since 2002. Rauf was also named as POTM in the third ODI and awarded Player of the Series for picking up 10 wickets in three matches.
Thus Haris Rauf completed his redemption arc, in a fiery fashion in the same country where his struggles first began. It took Rauf two years, injuries, and multiple setbacks to comeback in emphatic fashion. From being smashed for 14 runs in the last over against the USA to destroying one of the most dangerous batting units in international cricket, Rauf showed that cricket is a game that allows you to recover from the depths of despair.
We’ve seen the likes of Stuart Broad, hit for six 6s in an over by Yuvraj Singh in the T20 World Cup, going on to become one of the finest red ball bowlers of his time. We’ve also witnessed Ben Stokes, clubbed for four 6s by Carlos Braithwaite in the final of the 2016 World Cup, lead England to ODI and T20 World Cup success. Will Haris Rauf continue his story by achieving even greater heights? Time will tell. But for now, Rauf has proven that he is not the one to be kept down for long. Pace is pace.
Jasir Basharat is a cricket enthusiast capturing the heart of the game through insightful analysis and storytelling sharing his passion for the sport through engaging narratives. He is a business graduate from University of Kashmir.
