Haris Rauf: “Virat Kohli is a superstar and if a player of his stature praises you then it obviously gives you a lot of confidence”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan fast bowler Haris Rauf has admitted that he got a huge confidence boost after getting praised by India batting icon Virat Kohli.
Rauf, who bowls as speeds over 150 kph, acknowledged that Kohli “is a superstar” after having bowled to him in the past.
One of their most famous battles was during the 2022 T20 World Cup, where Kohli smashed Rauf for a huge six straight down the ground.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) even went as far as calling that six the “shot of the century”.
With the 2024 T20 World Cup coming up and India and Pakistan set to meet on June 9 in New York, Rauf is relishing the prospect of bowling to Kohli once again.
“Virat Kohli is a superstar and if a player of his stature praises you then it obviously gives you a lot of confidence,” the 30-year-old was quoted as saying by PakPassion on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Rauf has been out of action since dislocating his shoulder while representing the Lahore Qalandars in the 2024 Pakistan Super League (PSL).
He missed Pakistan’s five-match T20I series against New Zealand, which ended as a 2-2 draw, and three-match T20I series against Ireland, which the men in green won 2-1.
Currently, Pakistan are facing England in a four-match T20I series, which is level at 0-0 after the first game was washed out.
Following this, the men in green will feature in the T20 World Cup, which will take place in the West Indies and United States of America from June 1 to 29.
Pakistan’s first T20 World Cup game will be against the United States of America in Dallas on June 6.
Pakistan Squad for Ireland and England T20I Series: Babar Azam (capt), Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan