Haris Rauf: “It always feels good to bowl against Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan. Babar is a world-class batter”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan fast bowler Haris Rauf has heaped praise on Babar Azam, describing him as a “world-class batter.”
Rauf mentioned that he enjoys his on-field battles with Azam and also relishes the opportunity to bowl to wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan.
The trio recently came up against each other in the Big Bash League (BBL), with Rauf representing the Melbourne Stars, while Azam and Rizwan turned out for the Sydney Sixers and Melbourne Renegades respectively.
“It always feels good to bowl against Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan. Babar is a world-class batter,” Rauf was quoted as saying by journalist Arfa Feroz Zake on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Rauf did not feature in the 2026 T20 World Cup, but did take part in Pakistan’s three-match ODI series against Bangladesh in Mirpur, where he claimed six wickets in two games at an average of 13.
The trio are now taking part in the 2026 Pakistan Super League (PSL), with Rauf playing for the Lahore Qalandars, while Azam and Rizwan are captaining the Peshawar Zalmi and Rawalpindiz respectively.
Lahore Qalandars Squad for PSL 11: Shaheen Shah Afridi (captain), Abdullah Shafique, Sikandar Raza, Mohammad Naeem, Mustafizur Rahman, Asif Ali, Haris Rauf, Usama Mir, Fakhar Zaman, Ubaid Shah, Haseebullah Khan, Mohammad Farooq, Daniel Sams, Parvez Hossain Emon, Hussain Talat, Tayyab Tahir, Dunith Wellalage, Rubin Hermann, Maaz Khan, Shahab Khan, Gudakesh Motie.
Peshawar Zalmi Squad for PSL 11: Babar Azam (captain), Sufiyan Muqeem, Abdul Samad, Ali Raza, Aaron Hardie, Aamer Jamal, Khurram Shahzad, Khalid Usman, Mohammad Haris, Abdul Subhan, James Vince, Michael Bracewell, Kusal Mendis, Iftikhar Ahmed, Nahid Rana, Mirza Tahir Baig, Kashif Ali, Shahnawaz Dahani, Farhan Yousuf, Shoriful Islam, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Brian Bennett
Rawalpindiz Squad for PSL 11: Mohammad Rizwan (captain), Sam Billings, Jalat Khan, Yasir Khan, Naseem Shah, Rishad Hossain, Daryl Mitchell, Mohammad Amir, Abdullah Fazal, Amad Butt, Dian Forrester, Laurie Evans, Asif Afridi, Kamran Ghulam, Fawad Ali, Mohammad Amir Khan, Shahzaib Khan, Cole McConchie, Saad Masood