'He may be world-class, but...': Tilak Varma takes brutal dig on Haris Rauf after Asia Cup final

Tilak Varma remained unbeaten on 69 in the all-important final against Pakistan in the Asia Cup final and carried India to a thrilling win with two deliveries left to spare. The left-hander took time to settle on the crease but once he got going, he started smashing the opposing bowlers all around the stadium. He eventually went on to take the Men in Blue to victory and became the side's hero in the penultimate match.

Meanwhile, things turned out to be quite different for Pakistan pacer Haris Rauf as he ended up giving away 50 runs in his spell of 3.4 overs and failed to defend 10 runs in the last over of the match. Despite having a lot of experience at the international stage, the 31-year-old failed to stop the flow of runs and helped India get back into the match. Following the match, Varma went on to take a sly dig on Rauf, saying that the latter may be world-class, but he too is a good batter.

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“Haris Rauf might be a world-class bowler but I am also a good batter," Varma said while speaking to the media in Hyderabad.

Why was Rauf fined by the ICC?

This was a fitting reply from the Indian team to Rauf, who was fined 30 per cent of his match fees by the ICC for breaking the Code of Conduct when the two teams met in the Super 4 stage. Notably, the pacer was doing provocative gestures on the field and was even seen signalling '6-0' to the Indian fans while fielding on the boundary rope. This referred to Pakistan's baseless claim of downing six of India's fighter jets during Operation Sindoor. Rauf was also involved in heated verbal exchanges with Indian batters Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill.

Rauf got destroyed by Indian batters

Despite his decent bowling displays against both Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in Pakistan's previous matches of Asia Cup, Rauf completely crumbled when it mattered the most and ended up bowling an abysmal spell that saw India snatch the victory from his side. He will be hoping to improve his performance in Pakistan's upcoming three-match T20I series against South Africa that is set to commence from October 28.