- Former elite umpire Asad Rauf has passed away following a cardiac arrest at the age of 66. He died in Lahore.
- Asad Rauf made his umpiring debut in 1998 during a First-Class game. He served in ICC’s elite panel between 2006 and 2013.
Umpire Asad Rauf passed away on Wednesday at the age of 66 after suffering a cardiac arrest in Lahore. The former Pakistani umpire officiated in 231 international matches between 2000 and 2013.
Pakistani Cricket Board chief Ramiz Raja tweeted about the death of the legendary umpire. Raja described Asad as a good umpire who had a wicked sense of humour.
According to Raja, umpire Asad always placed a smile on his face whenever they were together.
“Saddened to hear about the passing of Asad Rauf. Not only was he a good umpire, but he also had a wicked sense of humour. He always puts a smile on my face and will continue to do so whenever I think about him. Many sympathies with his family for their loss.”
Former Pakistani wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal also sent his condolences to the family of Asad Rauf. Kamran described Asad’s demise as saddening news to the cricket world.
Asad Rauf. Photo/ News18.
Before becoming an umpire, Asad enjoyed a decent career as a domestic cricket player in Pakistani. Asad was one of the highly-rated batters in the 1980s.
The legendary cricketer scored 3423 runs in 71 First-Class games. He also recorded 611 runs in 40 List-A matches.
Rauf had a successful 1986-87 season, scoring 673 runs at an average of 35.36. He also managed one century and five fifties during that season.
However, his cricket career just lasted for another season before he decided to retire.
Asad Rauf made his debut as an umpire in 1998 during a First-Class game. And then umpired his first ODI match two years later.
Umpire Asad Rauf got elevation to the ODI panel in 2004 and then officiated in his first Test one year later.
Asad became one of the most prominent Pakistani umpires after his promotion to ICC’s elite panel in 2006. He was part of the panel and continued to officiate matches until 2013, when his umpiring career received a blow.
Asad Rauf was among the individuals wanted by police for the 2013 IPL spot-fixing scandal, where he was officiating.
Rauf left India before the end of that IPL season. Champions Trophy excluded him from the list of their umpires for that season.
Umpire Asad Rauf. Photo/ Omnanorama
ICC also announced that they withdrew Rauf from their umpires list. The former batsman was also dropped from ICC’s elite panel that year. However, ICC insisted that they didn’t drop Asad Rauf because of the scandal.
Rauf insisted that he was innocent and willing to work with ACSU to help with investigations.
BCCI banned Asad Rauf for five years in 2016 after he was found guilty of disrupting a cricket match as well as being involved in corruption.
The BCCI reported that umpire Asad Rauf was one of the individuals in the 2013 IPL spot-fixing scandal. And he could no longer continue to work as a member of the ICC’s elite panel.
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