Brad Hogg, the former Australian spinner, has praised the new Pakistan pace sensation, Haris Rauf, over the way he has integrated himself and used his potent skills in the ongoing 2021 T20 World Cup. The right-arm fast bowler has already picked up five wickets across two matches and has proved to be a valuable addition to Pakistan’s pace attack.
Brad Hogg noted how Haris Rauf is always in contact discussing how to bowl the next ball with either his skipper or the senior members of his team. Haris Rauf has been on point with his variations by mixing his slower balls and quick deliveries, no matter what the situation demands.
Brad Hogg: Haris Rauf Listened To His Teammates On How To Bowl Best In Pressured Situations In Matches Against India And New Zealand
Against New Zealand, Pakistan pacer Haris Rauf began the game with a 149 kph yorker that literally took Martin Guptill out of the game. He survived that ball but didn’t field in the second innings. Three of Haris Rauf’s four wickets came through slower deliveries. Haris Rauf led a clinical bowling display with an excellent four-wicket haul to restrict Kiwis to below-par 134/8.
While speaking on his YouTube channel, Brad Hogg said: “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.”
Haris Rauf has represented Pakistan in 25 T20Is and eight ODIs and is one of the latest recruits from Pakistan’s vast fast bowling talent pool. He has picked 14 ODI scalps and 33 T20I scalps averaging 29 and 22.69, respectively.
Brad Hogg: Haris Rauf Bowled Slower Balls In A Pattern And Should Change The Same As Opposition Batsmen Won’t Take Time To Decode It
Haris Rauf usually backs his express pace to do the talking and has rarely used the slower ball against the batsmen in the past. However, he showcased the slower ball as a new addition to his repertoire in the T20 World Cup because the conditions in the UAE demand it.
While Brad Hogg felt that the execution of the delivery was brilliant, he noted that Haris Rauf bowled it in a similar pattern and that it would not take long for the batsmen to decode it and prepare for it in advance.
Brad Hogg added: “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.”
Haris Rauf was adjudged as the man of the match for his four-wicket haul in the contest against New Zealand in Sharjah. He was impactful in their first contest against India as well, where he kept things tight and uncomfortable for the Indian unit. He returned with figures of 1/25 against India. The Pakistan pacer picked the wickets of Martin Guptill, Devon Conway, Glenn Phillips, and Mitchell Santner against Kiwis and Hardik Pandya against India.
In Pakistan’s opening game against India, lanky paceman Shaheen Shah Afridi put India on the back foot from the start with the wickets of openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul off his first seven deliveries. He finished with 3-31 after dismissing India’s top scorer, skipper Virat Kohli for 57 in a total of 151-7 in 20 overs.
Skipper Babar Azam, along with fellow opener Mohammad Rizwan, then knocked off the target of 152 odd in 17.5 overs without losing a single wicket. Babar Azam hit 68, not out, while Mohammed Rizwan finished with an undefeated 79.