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Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has taken a dig at Pakistan pacer Haris Rauf following the Men in Blue’s record-extending ninth Asia Cup title win. In the final game against India, Haris Rauf bowled a terrible spell in which he conceded 50 runs in his 3.4 overs. He emerged as the most expensive bowler in the game and his spell played a vital part in helping India chase down the total. Earlier, following the target of 147, India were in massive trouble as they lost three batters at a score of 20 in four overs. However, Rauf failed to maintain pressure on his arch-rivals which resulted in Pakistan’s loss.
Ashwin, while speaking on his YouTube channel, credited Haris Rauf for playing a crucial role in India’s victory. "Tilak Varma absolutely stole the show. He showed that he's made of veins of ice. Outstanding knock. India were in a very precarious situation. Thanks to Haris Rauf, we won the match easily," said Ashwin.
Ashwin also hailed Tilak Varma for holding his nerves and producing a magnificent batting show. "Tilak Varma soaked the pressure. He played spin really well. He played sweeps, he was able to hit down the ground. He realised that the bounce on the wicket was a little sticky and started playing square off the wicket. People think that it is easy to hit this shot (six to Rauf) but falling in the line and picking it up is difficult," he remarked.
Haris Rauf’s embarrassing record as a death bowler in T20Is
In the final few overs of the Asia Cup 2025 final against India, Haris Rauf was given the task to bowl a thrifty and wicket-taking spell to contain India from reaching the target but the speedster splurged 17 runs in his third over. However, Salman Agha showed confidence in Rauf again and handed him the ball to defend 10 runs in the last over.
However, the 31-year-old again looked out of rhythm and gave away 13 runs. This wasn’t the first time Rauf put up a disastrous show in death overs. In the T20 World Cup 2022 against India in Melbourne, he got hit for two sixes against Virat Kohli while defending 28 runs. Similarly, in the T20 World Cup 2024, he was trusted to save 13 runs for Pakistan against the USA but he again failed to do that which led to Pakistan’s humiliating loss in the Super Over.
