T20 WC 2021: Glenn Maxwell, Haris Rauf exchange jerseys after the semi-final
Haris Rauf didn’t have a great day on Thursday as he leaked 32 runs off three overs in Pakistan’s semi-final against Australia in the 2021 T20 World Cup. The Men in Green, led by Babar Azam, lost the game by five wickets and crashed out of the tournament, having earlier won all their five games in the Super 12. However, the fact that Rauf bowled his heart out in the event can’t be denied.
The pacer picked up eight wickets from six matches at an economy rate of 7.30. The seamer also got the Player of the Match award against New Zealand in Sharjah back on October 26. In the meantime, after Thursday’s semi-final, Rauf was involved in a heartfelt moment with all-rounder Glenn Maxwell.
The 28-year-old Rauf has played for the Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash League under the leadership of Maxwell. The duo was seen exchanging their national jerseys with each other and the camaraderie between them was clearly palpable.
Haris Rauf earned praise from Maxwell earlier
Back in 2020, Rauf conjured appreciation from Maxwell after he made his debut in the ninth edition of the BBL. In that tournament, he picked up 20 wickets from 10 games along with a hat-trick against Sydney Thunder. Maxwell had lauded him for coming up the ranks and termed him “an absolute entertainment machine.”
“There’s no limit to what he can do. He’s an absolute superstar. We probably didn’t get as much out of him as we could have. With a slight language barrier, you can sometimes miss a few things, but he still performed unbelievably well,” Maxwell was quoted as saying.
“He’s an absolute entertainment machine and people love coming to watch that. The story of him coming from club cricket into Pakistan eyes was absolutely outstanding, and was the story of the BBL tournament for mine,” he added.
Later, Rauf also thanked Maxwell for showing faith in his abilities and lending him adequate support. “Maxwell had extraordinary confidence in my ability to bowl and used me where I was of most use to the team. He went out of his way to support me whilst we were on the field and for my part, I repaid him by bowling to the plan and to the fields he set for me,” Rauf had said.
