Former Indian pacer Varun Aaron opined that India’s batters were able to attack Haris Rauf in the Asia Cup 2025 final because of his predictable bowling methods. Varun Aaron referred to Virat Kohli’s iconic assault on Haris Rauf in the 2022 T20 World Cup clash in Melbourne. The former India fast bowler explained that the batters find it easy to go after Rauf because he has a tendency of telegraphing plans.
For the record, India beat Pakistan by five wickets in a thrilling Asia Cup 2025 final in Dubai on September 28th, Sunday. Sent into bat first, Pakistan were bowled out for 146 in 19.1 overs. In the chase though, India suffered early jitters and were reduced to 20/3. However, Rauf had a poor game and conceded 50 in 3.4 overs, which made a huge difference in the end result.
Varun Aaron’s Opinion on Haris Rauf’s Predictable Lengths
During a discussion on ESPN Cricinfo, Varun Aaron opined that India’s batters exploited the lack of versatility in Rauf’s bowling to great advantage.
Varun Aaron elaborated: “It’s basically the ghosts of Melbourne returning to haunt him because Haris Rauf has this tendency of telegraphing plans. If we go back to Melbourne, where Virat Kohli hit him for those few sixes, it was very sure from the outside that he is only going to bowl back of length,”
Varun Aaron further added: “Today, the moment Mike Hesson made those signs of bowling wide, he went over the wicket to the lefties and just kept bowling wide. Even if you are bowling wide, especially to Shivam Dube, you can mix it up with a wide slower bouncer,”
Haris Rauf conceded 17 runs in the 15th over of India’s chase and then went for 13 runs in the 18th over. India needed 10 runs to win in the last over bowled by Rauf and got home with two balls to spare.
Virat Kohli’s Heroics against Haris Rauf in Melbourne 2022
If we speak of the India vs Pakistan 2022 T20 World Cup clash in Melbourne, Rauf was again at the receiving end of some terrific hitting, on that occasion from Kohli. Chasing 160 for the win, India needed 31 off the last two overs. Rauf came in to bowl the 19th over and Kohli launched the last two balls for brilliant sixes to keep the Men in Blue in the contest.
India needed 16 off the last over and sneaked home as Kohli ended up unbeaten on a magnificent 82 off 53 balls. While Rauf ended with decent figures of 2/36, the two sixes he conceded at the end had a telling impact on the final result.
Haris Rauf blew hot and cold throughout the Asia Cup 2025. When he got things right, he was unplayable and then there were days like in the final where he went for plenty of runs. When he did not get things right, he was taken to the cleaners. Against India, he has had a mixed bag campaign but ever since the Virat Kohli assault, Rauf isn’t the same menacing bowler that he used to be. He still picks up wickets but leaks runs and that is the big issue with him.
Haris Rauf has raw pace, but his lines and lengths at times can be all over the place. When he gets it wrong, he tends to leak runs at will. He needs to find a way to be more consistent. Against lesser known sides, he did fine, but he tended to struggle against India in the big summit clash and before as well. He needs to find ways to get back to his best as because of his bowling, Pakistan lost the match.
We shall see and find out whether Rauf can bounce back and come back stronger in the upcoming games after Asia Cup. He has the talent, skill and everything. He just needs to change his mindset and then everything will fall into place smoothly.
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