Pakistan pacer Haris Rauf received a hero's welcome from his family and friends on his return from the T20 World Cup in Australia. In a video uploaded on Twitter, Rauf's close ones could be seen garlanding him.
While the right-arm speedster was not Pakistan's highest wicket-taker, he delivered impactful performances throughout. Overall, he picked up eight wickets in seven games at 22.25.
Haris Rauf was the pick of the bowlers against India at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), dismissing Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav. The only blot in that game came when he conceded two sixes against Virat Kohli, leading to a miraculous win for India.
Rauf's best spell in the competition came against England in the final when he returned with figures of 4-0-23-2, claiming the scalps of Phil Salt and captain Jos Buttler. However, it was not enough to win as England won by five wickets to win their second T20 World Cup crown.
Batting first, Babar Azam and Co. managed only 137 as Sam Curran bagged figures of 4-0-12-3. Despite the best efforts of Pakistan's pace quartet, England won the game as Ben Stokes' unbeaten fifty proved pivotal.
Pakistan had a memorable run to the final of the tournament finals. They beat the Netherlands and South Africa convincingly but still faced a steep road to the semifinals. With the Dutch upsetting South Africa, Pakistan beat Bangladesh to progress to the knockouts, where they overcame New Zealand in the last four.
Test debut looms for Haris Rauf after Shaheen Shah Afridi's injury
Rauf could make his Test debut in the upcoming three-match series against England, starting on December 1 in Rawalpindi. With Shaheen Shah Afridi injuring his knee in the final against England, Pakistan could include Rauf in the squad to complete the pace-bowling unit.
The right-arm pacer, though, lacks significant first-class experience, having played only eight matches and managed 31 scalps at 27.64. His last red-ball game came in May this year.
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