KARACHI: Running in and bowling with raw pace was never a problem for Haris Rauf. After all, he had done it all his life with the tape ball and replicated the ability at HBL Pakistan Super League franchise Lahore Qalandars’ trials.

But after proving his mettle as a Qalandars product at club level in Australia, the Big Bash League and the PSL and making his Pakistan debut, he eventually started struggling with his economy as a bowler.

Until October 2021, the right-armer was leaking runs at nearly nine per over in Twenty20 Internationals, but in the year and a half that followed, he brought his economy rate down to less than eight.

Haris’ transformation was evident during the 2021 T20 World Cup, in which he took eight wickets at an average of 21 while conceding 7.3 runs per over, which led Pakistan to the tournament’s semi-finals.

The 2021 T20 World Cup was also the first time Pakistan looked like a close-knit unit under their captain Babar Azam, who marshaled the side to the finals of the T20 Asia Cup and the T20 World Cup in the year that followed, with Haris being one of the central figures in their journey in becoming one of the best white-ball sides in the world.

For Haris, the main man behind his emergence as Pakis­tan’s main death bowler in the shorter formats is none other than Babar.

“I strongly believe that the improvement in my performance is all because of Babar Azam,” Haris told Dawn. “We played really good and exciting cricket in the last two years.

“In this period, we emerged as a good unit, especially in white-ball cricket, and the credit goes to our skipper Babar Azam, who trusted the abilities of players, which ultimately gave us the confidence.”

While Babar enjoys Haris’ respect as the leader of the group, the pacer has got a special place in his heart for fellow quick and Pakistan’s pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi

His pairing with Shaheen has symbolised itself as Lahore Qalandars identity, with both bowlers staying associated with the franchise since the start of their PSL careers.

Even in the Pakistan shirt, Shaheen’s support has motivated Haris to do better.

“Shaheen Shah Afridi is a great support from the other end, he said. “We have a very strong bond, and it helps me to keep enhancing my bowling skills. “

Haris had to do without Shaheen after the latter was ruled out for nearly six months after picking up an injury during Pakistan’s tour to Sri Lanka in July. Shaheen was unavailable for the Asia Cup and the seven-match home T20I series against England before returning for the 2022 T20 World Cup, that too, only to walk off following an injury in the final.

In Shaheen’s absence, Haris said, he had to take the responsibility of leading the Pakis­tan attack. The extra bit of pressure, was a challenge Haris ensured only helped him to improve.

In the Asia Cup, Haris bagged eight victims at 19.12 and was the fifth-highest wicket-taker in the tournament. In the home T20 series against England he took as many wickets and topped the bowling charts.

“Shaheen wasn’t part of that series, so I was leading the bowling unit,” Haris noted about the England T20s. “..so I was extra responsible and managing my bowlers accordingly.

“It wasn’t easy to lead the bowling unit without him, but I was lucky enough that I took the advantage and learned this job from Shaheen.”

Haris and Shaheen were reunited before Pakistan kicked off their T20 World Cup campaign in Australia last year. The national side’s start in the showpiece was horrific as they lost against India and Zimbabwe in their first two matches.

Pakistan, however, bounced back to win the remaining matches of the group stages to eventually make it to the semi-finals, in which they beat New Zealand before losing to England in the final.

“That bad start was actually the start of our good end,” Haris said of Pakistan’s T20 World Cup campaign. “The loss against Zimbabwe was a true wake-up call, and then everyone stood up to perform.”

Pakistan could have started with a win as well had it not been for Virat Kohli’s unbelievable show, that helped India recover from a difficult start to their chase to go on to win the match.

Kohli’s two sixes in the death overs against Haris proved crucial in turning the tide for India as the pacer saw the ball fly past the boundary at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground.

“Well, the plan was simple; to deceive him with the variation, but he played it really well,” Haris said of his face-off with Kohli. “And I am saying this since the night that only a player like Kohli could hold his nerves and play that shot.”

Kohli’s innings was an example of the unforgivable nature of international cricket, which Haris believed a player needed to embrace to guarantee improvement.

“You learn every day, and I believe that when you get the experience, the responsibilities come to you, and there is no chance of making any mistake in competitive cricket,” he said. “So, to cope with these situations, you must keep yourself in challenging situations, and that’s the only way you can improve.”

Published in Dawn, March 6th, 2023