The fast-bowler from Rawalpindi is in Pakistan’s squad for the T20 World Cup and is likely to play a crucial role.

Haris Rauf is one of the quickest fast bowlers on the T20 circuit and one of the mainstays of Pakistan’s T20 team. However, his place in the squad for the T20 World Cup has been questioned by many, with the most common criticism being that he leaks too many runs.

Recent Dip In Form

The speedster has been heavily criticized for conceding too many runs. However, is that due to him being poor in general, or is it due to him being misused? Haris Rauf has the worst economy rate in the Powerplay among Pakistanis. This suggests that due to his relatively poor control with the new ball, captains should avoid utilizing him in the Powerplay.

Alternative New-Ball Options

For Pakistan, there are a lot of potential partners for Shaheen Shah Afridi, who can share the new ball during the T20 World Cup.

How To Use Haris Rauf in the World Cup

Haris Rauf is one of the standout death bowlers in the world in recent times. While his numbers aren’t quite at the level of a Jasprit Bumrah or Mustafizur Rahman, he has been above average in an era where batsmen have been looking to utilize the death overs to the maximum.

However, the speedster cannot bowl all four of his overs at the death of an innings. So the question arises: What is the optimal way to use him?

Hasan Ali and Haris Rauf stand out among the pacers that Pakistan generally utilizes in the middle overs. Both have distinct styles, with Hasan relying more on cutters and change-ups to stop the opposition in their tracks. On the other hand, Haris tends to bowl shorter lengths, similar to an enforcer role.

Death Overs Bowling

According to CricViz, a well-executed yorker goes at around 6 to 6.5 runs per over. However, a failed yorker, which normally becomes a half-volley or a full-toss, becomes one of the easiest deliveries to face and thus goes at more than 10 runs per over. Thus, going for yorker after yorker is fraught with risk. On average, a pacer at the death nails around 1 in 3 yorkers, and the margin for error is tiny.

Thus, it’s imperative that a bowler has other variations up his sleeve. At the same time, it’s essential to understand the opposition. Variations in pace, line, and length are all important components of death bowling. While Haris is nowhere close to being a finished product, he certainly has many of the tools to succeed at the death. He is capable of bowling decent change-ups and cutters into the pitch. Alongside that, he also has the pace to bowl hard lengths with success. Not every pace bowler possesses these abilities, which is why top T20 teams have persisted with him despite him proving expensive at times.

The missing part of the puzzle is the bowling plan. Bowlers must have the know-how of where to bowl to which batsman. Then, they need to back themselves to deliver the goods. In the warmup against West Indies, for example, Haris went for yorker after yorker to a batsman who has almost perfected the art of punishing missed yorkers in Kieron Pollard. Expectedly, he failed to land a yorker – understandable considering the margin of error – and went for five fours. A regular bowling plan to Pollard at the death usually takes that into account, prioritizing hitting hard lengths at pace, which Haris is capable of doing.

Can Pakistan combine the importance of his bowling role, back him to deliver at his strengths, and assist him with a sound bowling plan? There’s never any guarantee for success, but you must give yourself the best chance of succeeding.