Haris Rauf Wiki, Height, Age, Wife, Family, Biography & More

Haris Rauf is a Pakistani pace bowler who is regarded as one of the fastest bowlers in modern-day’s cricket. He is known to clock express speeds without compromising on his line & length.

Wiki/Biography

Haris Rauf was born on Sunday, 7 November 1993 (age 28 years; as of 2021) in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. His zodiac sign is Scorpio. During his childhood, he was more interested in football than cricket.

Physical Appearance

Height (approx.): 5′ 11″

Weight (approx.): 70 kg

Hair Colour: Natural Black

Eye Colour: Dark Brown

Family

Haris Rauf belongs to an Islam Family.

Parents & Siblings

His father’s name is Rauf Ahmed.

Career

His cricket journey started from his childhood when he wanted to be a footballer. He joined cricket when one of his school’s sports teachers advised him to go for a trial of the Lahore Qalandar team. To which he agreed and got selected. He also worked as a salesman at one of the shops in Rawalpindi besides playing tape-ball cricket. Tape-ball cricket is a type of cricket practice where a tennis ball is been wrapped with tape to alter its movement in the air. Recalling that time, Harris Rauf told a local channel that,

“Lahore Qalandars ka trial tha aur Tarif bhai (a coach) speed gun leke khade huye the (it was a Lahore Qalandars trial and Tarif bhai was standing with a speed gun). Ek banda 87 mari, toh mein socha mere ko is se zyada tez dalna hai (someone bowled at 87 mph, so I thought I had to bowl quicker than him). Toh jab ball dala, speed gun 88 dikhaya (so when I bowled, the speed gun showed 88 mph). Tabhi mere ko next round jane ka mauka mila (only then did I get the pass to qualify for the next round).”

In 2019, he was bought by the Melbourne team to play in the Big Bash League (BBL) when he replaced the injured former South African pacer, Dale Steyn. It was his debut season where he picked 20 wickets.

He then had an exceptional PSL (Pakistan Super League), BBL season.

As a result, he was called into the national squad in January 2020. His first international game was a T20 match against Bangladesh on 24 January at Gaddafi stadium in Lahore. In that match, he gave 32 runs and took one wicket of their batter Afif Hossain; bowled on nine runs. He was also indulged in a run out of their star opener Tamim Iqbal. Pakistan won this match by five wickets.

A few months later in June 2020, he was selected in Pakistan’s squad for an England tour. However, he was omitted from the team when his COVID report came positive along with two other players in the Pakistani team. On 30 October 2020, he made his ODI debut against Zimbabwe at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. In this match, he didn’t scalp any wicket and conceded 57 runs in ten overs with an economy of 5.7. However, Pakistan won this match by 26 runs and led the three-match series 1-0. Two days later, he took his maiden wicket of their captain Chamu Chibhabha; caught behind. Pakistan won this match by six wickets.

In the next two games of the series, he took three wickets. His best bowling performance came against England on 13 July 2021 where he took four wickets after conceding 65 runs in nine overs. Pakistan scored 331 runs after batting first. In reply, Haris Rauf removed their top-order batters Phil Salt and Zak Crawley when the score was 104 runs. He soon took a wicket of their centurion batter James Vince. But, England won this match with 12 balls remaining.

In July 2021, he was named in the Category-C of the Centrally Contracted Players 2020-21 by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). In an official release issued by the PCB, Haris told,

“I am very happy to get this news in Derby and of course, would take it as a motivation for this year.”

Soon, in September he got selected in the Pakistan squad for the T20 World Cup 2021. Pakistan’s opening match was against the arch-rivals India on 24 October 2021. India after batting first posed 151 runs on the board for the loss of seven wickets. Haris Rauf took one wicket of Hardik Pandya after giving away 25 runs in four overs with an economy of 6.25. Pakistan won this historic match by ten wickets.

Their next match was against the Kiwis at Sharjah on 26th October. New Zealand was cruising along nicely when Haris Rauf removed their star opening batter, Martin Guptill, on 17 runs in the sixth over. He didn’t stop here. He went on to scalp three more wickets of Devon Conway, Glenn Philips, and Mitchell Santner while giving away 22 runs with an economy of 5.5 runs per over. Pakistan again won this match with five wickets and secured their place in the semis.

Until October 2021, he played 8 ODI games and took 14 wickets with a career economy of  5.97. His most wickets are in England. Interestingly, his record in away matches is better than home, unlike other Asian bowlers with 13 wickets. He has played only under Babar Azam in this format of the game. He also played 27 T20I games until then and took 35 wickets with an economy of 8.58. Against Kiwis, he has taken the most wickets (9 wickets).

Records

• The second bowler after Rashid Khan to claim two hat-tricks in Big Bash League (BBL). ^[1]Indian Express Limited

• Second fastest delivery (153.1 km/hr) in the T20 World Cup 2021 after Enrich Nortje from South Africa. ^[2]Hayat News

Domestic Teams

• Lahore Qalandars (2018-present)

• Northern (2019-present)

• Hobart Hurricanes

• Melbourne Stars (2019/20-present)

• Northern (Pakistan)

• Qalandars

• Pakistan Shaheens

• Balochistan

Controversies

‘Slit throat’ celebration

This controversy rosed when it was alleged that Harris Rauf did a slit throat action celebration every time he took a wicket in a Big Bash League (BBL) match against Sydney Thunders while playing for the Melbourne Stars. Many fans condemn this gesture from a Pakistani pacer. One Pakistani fan wrote, ^[3]Indian Express Limited

“Haris Rauf is spectacular but he should change his celebration style. A Throat-slashing celebration should have no place on a cricket ground. Someone needs to guide this young lad.”

Facts/Trivia

• In 2017, he revealed ^[4]Indian Express Limited
  

  “My father didn’t like cricket. He said without recommendation, you weren’t going to make a career. Then I got picked for Lahore Qalandars, where talent rather than recommendation has been the only yardstick.”

• Revealing the reason behind his performance in the T20 World Cup 2021, former Australian spinner Brad Hogg told,
  

  “He knows that he’s raw, a little wet behind the ears, he knows he’s not got much experience and knowledge at the international level. So, he’s listening to his teammates out in the middle, like Babar Azam for one, Malik and Hafeez, those experienced players, just to give him the comfort of the ball that he wants to bowl next in those pressure situations. I thought that was brilliant and he did the same thing against New Zealand. You’ve got to adapt and you can adapt.“

  He further adds,

  “One thing that he has got to be careful of is that he’s bowling that slower ball in a pattern. He is bowling alternate slower balls, so opposition teams are going to work this out and wait for the slower deliveries. So, he needs to shake up his pattern.”

• Former Pakistani batter Salman Butt reveals the journey of Harris Rauf’s in world cricket by saying that,
  

  “Yeh ek aise emerging star hai joh GT Road se nahi aaye hain (he’s one emerging star whose entry to the Pakistan team hasn’t been linear).”

• In one of the matches of the 2020 PSL, Harris Rauf confessed to Shahid Afridi after taking his wicket. To this, his coach and former Pakistani fast bowler Aaqib Javed said,
  

  “He is going through a learning curve. He is grooming well, respecting his seniors. It’s imperative to grow not only as a cricketer but as a human being as well. I feel good when I see his development.”

  

  Harris Rauf apologized to Shahid Afridi after taking his wicket on 15 November 2020 in a PSL match