"I have made good progress but I am working on my weaknesses" : Haris Rauf

[MenInG]

Regarded as one of the quickest bowlers in Pakistan, Haris Rauf has fast progressed from a promising talent who learnt his cricket by playing with a tape-ball to someone who is currently regarded as an integral part of his country's white-ball sides. Haris recently rose to fame with his performances in the 2021 edition of the T20 World Cup and has 61 wickets in 46 international games.

In an exclusive interview with PakPassion.net, Haris spoke about his current County Cricket stint at Yorkshire, the advantages for upcoming cricketers of the partnership between Lahore Qalandars and Yorkshire, why he feels that his performances in the 2021 T20 World Cup have proved to be a turning point in his career, what impressed him most about Vernon Philander’s coaching and what the tour by Australia to Pakistan after a long gap of 24 years meant for his countrymen and the impact the visit had on his own game.

PakPassion.net: What are you looking to achieve this season with Yorkshire in County Cricket?

Haris Rauf: The excellent standard of County Cricket in England is well known to all around the world, but for me the main aim was to refine my skills in red-ball cricket. So, the idea has been to learn how to bowl with more control and get a good understanding of what I need to adjust in my technique to bowl well in English conditions. I am also hoping that the experience of playing 4-Day cricket here will prove to be useful for me to take into international cricket, whenever the need arises.


PakPassion.net: Tell us about what you feel will be the benefits of the Yorkshire County Cricket Club-Lahore Qalandars partnership?

Haris Rauf: I believe this is a great idea as it will help promote local talent in Yorkshire in the same way we have done in Pakistan with the Qalandars Player Development Program. This will be a great opportunity and platform for talented youngsters from Yorkshire to go over to Lahore and train there and will provide the same advantage and opportunity for players from Pakistan who will come over to Yorkshire. If the youngsters can make use of this opportunity where they can train at world-class facilities and experience cricket in different conditions, then many doors can open for them in the future including playing in different leagues around the world and also give them a chance to play in County cricket as well.


PakPassion.net: How crucial is playing in County cricket for your future chances of playing Tests for Pakistan?

Haris Rauf: Every cricket player aspires to represent their country in what is considered the highest form of the game which is Test cricket. There is no doubt in my mind that I am learning a lot by playing County cricket as the experience I get here will be crucial for my future aspirations to play Test cricket. The sort of things I have picked up so far and what is crucial for my development in red-ball cricket are centred around building up patience and assessing conditions and the opposition which will help in taking wickets, in different conditions.

PakPassion.net: Would you say that your performances in last year’s ICC T20 World Cup could prove to be a turning point in your career?

Haris Rauf: For any professional cricketer, each format of the game represents a different challenge, each match is equally important, especially when you are representing your country. In each format, there are changes in strategy, in how you approach the game and in the style of play as well as different conditions to contend with. For me, the T20 World Cup in UAE was a hugely motivating experience. This was the first ICC event I was taking part in and most importantly the selectors put faith in me to represent Pakistan at this big platform. My intention was to do my best, to put in my best effort and thankfully I got the rewards with 8 wickets to my name against some tough opponents.


PakPassion.net: Whilst your pace has impressed all, some critics feel that you are wayward in terms of line and length.

Haris Rauf: One must understand that the shorter formats of the game which I usually play in, there are different challenges that I have to face as a bowler. For a start, the batters are always looking to score quick runs off you in the shortest amount of time, so you have to consistently be on top of your game to try and out-think them. What this means is that if you continue to bowl at the same line then it’s very likely that the batter will figure out your tactics and score runs with ease. You then have to vary your line, length and speed, bowl a yorker or bowl a bouncer to counter this and it is possible that in doing that, to some, my bowling appears as wayward.


PakPassion.net: What changes are you looking to make to your bowling to overcome issues with accuracy?

Haris Rauf: For me the most important objective is to not give away runs when I am not able to take a wicket. The aim is to bowl dot balls as much as possible when I am not taking wickets, and it really comes down to whatever it takes to achieve my aims. The idea is always to bowl with as much variety as possible and save runs or take wickets, but I am aware that I need to improve myself. I have made good progress but I am working on my weaknesses. This is why my experience such as that at Yorkshire where I am working with an experienced coach like Otis Gibson is crucial for me. Whether it’s in the white-ball or red-ball format, rest assured that I am working hard to ensure that my bowling gets better and better and am hoping that we will see the results of that in the future.


PakPassion.net: Vernon Philander was full of praise for you, how did you find the experience of his coaching?

Haris Rauf: We were very fortunate to have the services of someone like Vernon Philander who apart from being an amazing performer in his playing days was also a great fast-bowling coach for us during his stint in the ICC T20 World Cup. Personally speaking, in today’s cricket, one will be exposed to many different coaches depending on whether you are playing for your national side or for a league or a County team. The challenge for me is to learn and make the maximum use of such opportunities as these can really improve you as a cricketer. The work that Philander put in with us during the tournament was amazing. He not only helped us in the nets but what proved most beneficial for us were his insights on the right mindset that we needed to have to bowl well and win games. The experiences he shared with us throughout the tournament obviously helped us to progress, but the true value of his advice will hopefully be visible to us in the future.

PakPassion.net: How important was the tour of Australia for the development of cricket in Pakistan?

Haris Rauf: To have a side such as Australia visit us in Pakistan and that too after a 24-year gap was truly a huge event for which we are all grateful. For our crowds to watch their own side take on a world-class team on their home soil must have been a wonderful experience. There would be many in the crowd who would have been inspired by watching their heroes take on a high-quality Australian outfit and we could see the effects of that in the future with more talent coming through the ranks to hopefully represent Pakistan. Purely in terms of the entertainment value of watching top names of world cricket compete hard in front of them is something I am sure many in the crowd will remember forever and would have thoroughly enjoyed it as well.


PakPassion.net: What was your experience of playing against Australia on home-soil?

Haris Rauf: Personally speaking, the opportunity to play against a strong side like Australia was a great experience. For a professional cricketer, you can understand your own weaknesses and how to improve yourself further when you play a top-notch side. The pressures you go through and the amount of hard-work needed to take on the best is something you can only experience when you play at that competitive level and I am glad that I took 6 wickets in that series and was given the chance to prove myself by the selectors and the team management.

[Titan24]

Good read.

Its a positive that he understands that there are some weaknesses in his bowling when it comes to accuracy. I think he has improved that aspect in last year or so but, there is still roam for improvement. He naturally has pace and decent variety, if he can improve the control part as he has showed glimpses of that over the last year then he can be much more handy.

I personally believe that more than playing part in county cricket, its the opportunity to work with different coaches and trainers in the circuit and that definitely gives different dimensions to the thought process and as well as training regimes alongside small technical tips which can make a big difference. Hopefully as he mentioned he would have learnt a thing or two by working with Ottis Gibson who is really experienced in terms of working with different teams including international sides.

[James]

Another excellent interview from the team.

[silentkiller187]

Great work guys well done, will be interesting where his career takes him in the next few years.

[MenInG]

In squad for the T20 Blast game tonight

[Saj]

I'm not convinced he has the skills or stamina to play Test cricket for Pakistan.

He's fast, he can bowl some very good deliveries in white-ball cricket but his consistency is lacking. Too often he bowls all over the place and is the bowler the opposition targets.

At best he's currently a decent T20 bowler.

[MenInG]

Pakistan pacer Haris Rauf is looking to represent his country in the longest format of the game and that is the reason he opted for a county season, he has said. Yorkshire has roped in the 28-year-old Pakistan pacer for the County Championship and T20 Blast.

Haris is currently in England, representing his county side. The pacer has picked up 15 wickets so far in four matches at an average of 31.53. He said that the high standard of County Cricket will help him in becoming a better red-ball player in the future.

“The excellent standard of County Cricket in England is well known to all around the world, but for me, the main aim was to refine my skills in red-ball cricket,” Haris told PakPassion.net.

“So, the idea has been to learn how to bowl with more control and get a good understanding of what I need to adjust in my technique to bowl well in English conditions. I am also hoping that the experience of playing four-day cricket here will prove to be useful for me to take into international cricket, whenever the need arises,” he added.

Haris is an integral part of the white ball set-up for Pakistan since 2020. He has 19 wickets in 11 ODIs while 42 scalps in 35 T20Is. However, he is yet to make his debut for Pakistan in the whites. He said that just like every other cricketer, he also aspires to represent his country in the longest format of the game.

“Every cricket player aspires to represent their country in what is considered the highest form of the game which is Test cricket. There is no doubt in my mind that I am learning a lot by playing County cricket as the experience I get here will be crucial for my future aspirations to play Test cricket. The sort of things I have picked up so far and what is crucial for my development in red-ball cricket is centred around building up patience and assessing conditions and the opposition which will help in taking wickets, in different conditions.”

https://www.crictracker.com/main-aim...ounty-cricket/

[Saj]

2 for 39 from 4 overs tonight against Lancashire.

Usual mixture of good deliveries and rubbish.

[BunnyRabbit]

Talks like a limited overs bowlers. Not talking about bowling with consistency and bowling spells or working on swing and seam. Talking about just variations.

[TheSultan]

Good attitude - he’s the type of character we need in the team.

I don’t know why everyone wants to write him off as a test bowler. If he can learn from his county stint and his play more domestic red ball cricket he’d be an asset for tests.

The world seems fixated on making bowlers with real pace just T20 specialists. I’d argue a test team needs real pace more than T20 or ODIs

[MenInG]

Haris was expensive but too 4/77 vs West Indies in first ODI

[MenInG]

An absolute ��, courtesy of @HarisRauf14 #LVCountyChamp pic.twitter.com/leoOfATpF4

— LV= Insurance County Championship (@CountyChamp) June 9, 2022

[Mamoon]

He is a joke of a bowler with a very unlikable personality.

He he has the attitude and arrogance of Akhtar but in reality is just a right-handed Wahab.

[MenInG]

[DRsohail]

Runs leaking machine.

[Shafi]

He is a joke of a bowler with a very unlikable personality.

He he has the attitude and arrogance of Akhtar but in reality is just a right-handed Wahab.

Wahab was a better bowler!!!

[Abstraction1]

He is a joke of a bowler with a very unlikable personality.

He he has the attitude and arrogance of Akhtar but in reality is just a right-handed Wahab.

You've met him then have you?

[Fenrir]

Pace without control is no use.Some of his deliveries are unplanned but in every over gives two or three easy balls.If he can bow in the right areas then he can be good.

[Bewal Express]

Still too many easy 4 balls. Has to bowl full and attack the batsman because if he doesn't take wickets he will be out of the team

[Saj]

Sometimes it's best to keep it simple.

Haris sometimes tries too many tricks and that backfires.

[Mamoon]

You've met him then have you?

I hope that day never comes.

[Mamoon]

Rauf is a bowling machine on “random” calibration - he just runs in and bowls with no regards to the match situation, field, conditions, the batsman on strike etc.

All his wickets are flukes because there is not thought-process behind his bowling, no plan. He has nothing between his skull.

One of those bowlers who is a nightmare to captain and set field to.

[Nasty Naz]

Wahab was a better bowler!!!

lol. People sure love to exaggerate when a player has a bad game.

[MenInG]

Darren Gough in an interview

“Rauf is someone I admire, not much experience in the longer format but a fantastic performer in the T20 for Lahore Qalandars, Melbourne Stars and for Pakistan, I watched him at the World Cup,"

[Deewana Mastana]

His average pace is mostly around 140kph+ and in red ball doubt he can bowl in that range after his 2nd spell.

Still has a long way to go in the 2 other formats apart from T20 cricket as he still mostly recognised just as a T20 bowler around the world.

[Saj]

Was he worth picking instead of Hassan Ali in the series against Sri Lanka?

[shamaan]

Was he worth picking instead of Hassan Ali in the series against Sri Lanka?

Dahani should be given a chance instead of Rauf

[Firebat]

Haris Rauf: I am enjoying bowling with Naseem Shah

Dubai, 3 September 2022: Pakistan’s ACC T20 Asia Cup 2022 campaign had hit a major roadblock even before it began when their premier fast bowler Shaheen Afridi was ruled out due to a knee injury. A few days before the team’s tournament opener, fast bowling all-rounder Mohammad Wasim Jnr was declared unfit for the tournament due to a side strain. Now, Pakistan will take on India in their opening Super-4 game on Sunday without Shahnawaz Dahani, who has been advised rest for after pikcing up a suspected a side strain injury during the Hong Kong match on Friday.

However, such is the depth of Pakistan’s pace bowling arsenal that despite these setbacks, the country’s pacers have rocked Dubai and Sharjah conditions with their sizzling bouncers, scorching yorkers and wily cutters.

Naseem Shah has been a revelation. He accounted for KL Rahul in his maiden over in T20I cricket last Sunday and uprooted the off-stumps of a dangerous-looking Suryakumar Yadav. On Friday, he sent two Hong Kong batters back to the pavilion in a space of three balls, which provided a solid start to Pakistan’s defence of 194. Hong Kong, eventually, were bowled out for 38 as Pakistan recorded their biggest T20I win in terms of runs.

Naseem sits fourth alongside Shadab Khan on the list of bowlers with most wickets, but what stands out is his strike-rate of nine – meaning he is taking a wicket every second over.

Haris Rauf, now the most experienced bowler in this Pakistan pace attack, is looking forward to a partnership with Naseem. With these two bowlers’ ability to constantly click above 145kph, swing the ball in the air and seam off the pitch, they promise to pose a threat to India, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka over the next week.

“I am really happy with the performance of my bowling line-up,” Haris told PCB Digital ahead of Pakistan’s Super 4 clash against India on Sunday in Dubai. “We kept it tight in the first match against India and got a thumping win against Hong Kong. We will try to keep this momentum in the Super 4 stage of the tournament.

“Bowling partnerships are very important in this format of the game and I am really enjoying bowling with the young sensation Naseem Shah. Because of his searing pace, he keeps the opponents on the backfoot, which gives edge to the other bowlers.”

It is not only the pace arsenal that has delivered for Pakistan. Pakistan spinners in vice-captain Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz (leading wicket-taker in group stages with six scalps) have been extraordinary, denying scoring opportunities and striking at crucial junctures.

On the batting front, the promise of hard-hitting middle-order came true on Friday when Khushdil Shah spanked four sixes in the last five balls of the innings against Hong Kong. Top-order Mohammad Rizwan, Pakistan’s most successful batter since the start of 2021, has been the tournament’s most successful batter with 121 runs, while Fakhar Zaman also scored a half-century while showing signs of form.

Although Babar Azam is due to some runs, this sets Pakistan up well for the match against India, and Haris is confident about his team’s chances on Sunday.

“India-Pakistan games are always high intensity matches and we are confident to produce a competitive clash on Sunday. It was a nail-bitter last Sunday, which went into the last over but 4 September will be a new date and we are hopeful to cross the line this time in Dubai.”

Pakistan face Afghanistan and Sri Lanka on Wednesday and Friday.

https://www.pcb.com.pk/press-release...seem-shah.html

[MenInG]

Shaun Tait on Haris in Super 4 game against India in the Asia Cup

“Haris Rauf’s last over for me, putting aside the misfield and the drop catch. He has been working so hard on his yorkers and slower balls like the other guys have. And his execution in the last over was perfect last night. Potentially, that was match-winning,”

[Fenrir]

What people forget is that Rauf didn’t come through the cricket system.He didn’t play in u19 team or FC.He was a tape ball cricketer who can bowl quick.LQ found him via their talent hunt.He needed experience and coaching to correct his flaws.

[MenInG]

Like the look of Haris

[daytrader]

Bowled really well today but didn't see any yorkers at death

[shamaan]

When he bowls at the stumps then he's hard to get away.

[daytrader]

Haris bowling fire!

[Corridor of Uncertainty]

Sometimes I think Haris Rauf is going to run off to third man

[MenInG]

An integral part of Pakistan's LOI side

[MenInG]

Pakistan star Haris Rauf is widely regarded as one of the fastest bowlers in the current generation of cricketers. Having made his international debut in 2020, Haris has represented the side in 15 ODIs and 57 T20Is and made his maiden Test appearance against England in the first match of the series in Rawalpindi, that began on Thursday (December 1). Haris gained prominence after his stint for the Melbourne Stars in the 2019-20 edition of the Big Bash League, where he picked 20 wickets in 10 innings.

During the time, he was also called as a net bowler by the Indian team that was on a tour of Australia. In an interview with Cricwick, Haris recalled the days when he trained with Team India and talked about his conversation with then-head coach, Ravi Shastri.

Also read: ‘He didn't do anything wrong, doesn't need rest': Ex-opener lambasts India squad for Bangladesh ODIs, bats for Gill

“Aksar unse (Ravi Shastri) mulakat hoti hai, wo kehte hai ‘yaar ek net bowler jaise tum hamare paas aye they…aur jis tarah tum world me bowling kar rahey ho tumhara ek naam hai. Jab hum tumko dekhte hai to hume kafi khushi milti hai'. To unhe sara pata hai jaise Virat bhai bhi kafi appreciate karte hai ki ek time tum net bowler bhi they.” (Whenever I meet Shastri, he always reminds me how I was a net bowler once and now you have so much fame. So, he knows where I came from and he is happy to see me)," said Haris.

d a good rapport with Kohli, having bowled to him at the India nets during the 2018-19 series when the last Test was held at the SCG.

“Virat bhai bhi kafi appreciate karte hai ki ek time tum net bowler bhi they. (Even Virat Kohli appreciates where I have reached. He told me that you bowled at our nets and now it is good to see you do well at international level.).”

[Firebat]

Not the best outing for Rauf today, 0/54 in his 8 overs.

[MenInG]

Haris Rauf speaking in an interview

"I eat 24 eggs a day. Aaqib Javed had given me the diet plan: 8 eggs for breakfast, 8 for lunch, and 8 for dinner. When I had gone to the cricket academy for the first time, the room had crates of eggs piled up. I felt as if I had come to some poultry farm," said Rauf while speaking on the Geo News show"

"I was 72 kgs then and Aaqib bhai told me I need to be around 82-83 kgs, ideal for my height. I am now 82 kgs,"

[Sher Khan]

Yes okay, eggs are a great source of protein and help with muscle building if one works out.

But eggs also have a lot of bad cholesterol in them and eating too many is a major risk factor for heart disease.

I am not sure Haris knows about this and whether Aqib has told him about all this before the diet regime began.

[bilawal666]

He averages at least two boundaries an over. Bet he's never bowled a maiden over.

[RedwoodOriginal]

Coming back from an injury is never easy. I think he'll be back to 100% in a game or two.

[Suleiman]

Yes okay, eggs are a great source of protein and help with muscle building if one works out.

But eggs also have a lot of bad cholesterol in them and eating too many is a major risk factor for heart disease.

I am not sure Haris knows about this and whether Aqib has told him about all this before the diet regime began.

I agree. Aqib always came off as a villager type coach. Didn’t he mess up a couple dozen fast bowlers’ actions as well? Anwar Ali being the prime example.

24 eggs a day?? I hope he means egg whites else this is a recipe for disaster.

[MenInG]

In BPL today

[gazza619]

Playing so many crap leagues will only make him worse and worse.