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Babar Azam-led Pakistan's shocking defeat in T20 World Cup opener against the USA continues to spark criticism. Former captain Salman Butt has specifically targeted Haris Rauf's bowling choices in the final over. With the USA needing 15 runs to win off the last over, Rauf, the experienced pacer, was entrusted with the responsibility. However, his decision-making came under scrutiny. He conceded a crucial six off the third ball to Aaron Jones, leaving the equation at a precarious 5 runs needed from the final delivery.
Salman Butt cracks whip at Haris Rauf
Butt criticized Rauf's strategy. Despite having the mid-off fielder positioned up, Rauf opted for a yorker. The execution faltered, resulting in a low full toss that Nitish Kumar easily dispatched over the fielder's head for a boundary. This costly error tied the match, forcing it into a Super Over. While Rauf's bowling choice raised questions, it wasn't the only factor in Pakistan's downfall. The Super Over itself was a debacle, with Mohammad Amir conceding a staggering eight extra runs. Additionally, the fielding unit was sloppy, allowing easy singles and doubles, making it even easier for the USA to chase down the target.
Pakistan's night went from bad to worse in their T20 World Cup opener against the USA. After being restricted to 159 runs, their bowling attack failed to defend the target in the final over, allowing the USA to tie the score. The match then headed into a dramatic Super Over, where things unraveled completely for Pakistan.
USA's Saurabh Netravalkar bowled a tight Super Over, restricting Pakistan to a mere 12 runs. This handed the USA a historic victory, their third win over a Test-playing nation, but undoubtedly their most significant one coming against a former world champion like Pakistan.
Adding to the criticism of Pakistan's performance, former captain Salman Butt took aim at Haris Rauf's bowling choices in the final over. Butt questioned whether Rauf even considers his field placement before bowling, highlighting the poor execution of the yorker attempt that gifted the USA a crucial boundary. The lapse in strategy and execution in the death overs proved costly for Pakistan, as they succumbed to a historic upset.
"It is not a surprise that he conceded so many runs because he is that kid who doesn't look at his field at all. Mid-off is inside the circle, and yet he bowls full and gets hit for a boundary on the last ball. You can see the captain also screamed at him. When you have mid-off up, then you don't bowl full balls. This is a basic of cricket," Butt said on 'Cricket Baithak' podcast.
Butt isn't holding back his criticism of Haris Rauf's performance in the T20 World Cup opener against the USA. Rauf's bowling throughout the match was far from ideal. He finished with the most expensive figures among the Pakistani bowlers who bowled more than one over, conceding a staggering 37 runs in his four overs. Butt pointed out another instance of questionable bowling strategy, where Rauf failed to bowl according to the field placement against batsman Andreas Gous during the middle overs. Taking his criticism a step further, Butt labeled Rauf as ‘unprofessional’ and claimed the pacer has a concerning tendency of not learning from his mistakes.
"He (Haris Rauf) has some weird style when he bowls a ball and just sits on his knees with his hand on his head. It is as if he incurred a loss in shares or someone robbed him. I don't know what he tries to portray but that is so unprofessional. You never learn anything. They lacked common sense and game awareness," Butt added.
Ball-Tampering allegation casts shadow on Rauf
Pakistan's T20 World Cup woes deepened with accusations of ball-tampering against pacer Haris Rauf. Rusty Theron, a former South African cricketer currently playing for the USA national team made the startling allegation. Theron claimed he observed Rauf running his thumbnails over the newly changed ball, which was only two overs old at the time. He believes this action caused the ball to reverse swing, giving Pakistan an unfair advantage.
Taking to social media (formerly known as Twitter), Theron slammed the International Cricket Council (ICC) for not taking any action to investigate the incident.
"@ICC are we just going to pretend Pakistan aren't scratching the hell out of this freshly changed ball? Reversing the ball that's just been changed 2 overs ago? You can literally see Harris Rauf running his thumbnail over the ball at the top of his mark. @usacricket #PakvsUSA," Theron wrote on 'X'.
Pakistan will next lock horns with their arch-rivals India on June 9 in New York.
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