After a less than impressive Test match which included dropping Shane Watson on 99, Rauf was asked to pack his bags and head back home. PakPassion.net recently caught up with Rauf to look back at what went wrong and how he has fought back in an attempt to win back a place in the national side.

 by Haroon Khan

23 January 2011

To be asked to bowl against Australia at a packed Boxing Day Test at the MCG can be a daunting task for even a seasoned international cricketer. For Abdur Rauf it proved to be the catalyst which derailed his international career and sent him back into the oblivion which is Pakistani domestic cricket. After a less than impressive Test match which included dropping Shane Watson on 99, Rauf was asked to pack his bags and head back home. PakPassion.net recently caught up with Rauf to look back at what went wrong and how he has fought back in an attempt to win back a place in the national side.

32 year old Abdur Rauf has long been a consistent performer in the domestic circuit and since making his debut in the 99/00 season he has claimed over 500 wickets in first class cricket. With such a record, it was inevitable that he would one day play for Pakistan, and he debuted against Sri Lanka at Galle in July 2009 along with Mohammad Amir and Saeed Ajmal. Two test matches later he would find himself part of an embarrassing 170 run loss to Australia at the MCG, in a match where he only managed the solitary wicket of tail-ender Nathan Hauritz. 

"I was disappointed that I could not perform in the opportunity I got in the Boxing Day Test match against Australia. The experience in Melbourne was amazing with a huge crowd but it also put a lot of pressure on us. I felt my bowling wasn’t that bad, but I just was not able to perform to my ability," Rauf said.

However, Rauf felt that he should have been given an extended run in the side before being discarded. "It is hard to consistently perform until you are given chances. A player should be given a couple of series so that he can play 5-6 test matches and only then can you perform at your best", Rauf claimed. When asked if he was given a reason for his axing, Rauf replied, "I was never given a reason for my dropping and such is the norm in Pakistani cricket. Often it is a selector’s favourite who will get selected and sometimes it even appears that a player who has been performing well has been dropped for little reason. Pakistan cricket selection has long been run like this which is detrimental to the national team."

Closer to home, the tall right arm fast bowler also had plenty to say about the standard of domestic cricket on show. "10-15 years ago Pakistani domestic cricket had a very good standard with players such as Inzimam Ul Haq, Saeed Anwar, Waqar Younis, Wasim Akram, Majid Khan and Javed Miandad." 

Due to the longevity in his career, Rauf has tested his skills alongside and against some of these greats of Pakistani cricket, but unfortunately he feels that domestic cricket is currently no longer on the same level and a lot of the blame is to lie with the administrators of the game. "In the last 5 years or so, there have been so many changes in the running of Pakistani cricket and its domestic game that it has been impossible to get a properly planned structure in place for the improvement of the game. Every new administrator complicates it through personal pride and by bringing in his own systems and hence making the same mistakes again and again." 

The constant chopping and changing of administrators and their systems has made Pakistani cricket "a laughing stock for the international cricket community" according to Rauf. "The standard of cricket is so poor that there are teams that are being bowled out for 50-100 runs on a regular basis."

Having toured with the national squad as well as other touring squads, Rauf is familiar with the cricket being played elsewhere around the world. Comparing other national cricket boards' domestic competitions with Pakistan, Rauf feels that Pakistan is rapidly falling behind. "Look at South Africa, India, England, Australia and even Bangladesh – they have a cricket structure which has been in place and has been successful for long periods because they do not make drastic changes to it on a regular basis."

Now back playing for Multan in the QEA Trophy, the recently concluded season has once again been a success for the Renala Khurd born pacer. "I have really enjoyed my bowling this year and it has been an enjoyable experience," said Rauf. In 11 matches in the QEA Trophy this season, Rauf has picked up an impressive 63 wickets at a healthy average of 19.60. 

Given the continuation of his good form, Rauf still maintains ambitions to once again don the Pakistani cap. "While I have the strength to, I will continue to keep performing to the best of my ability in the hope of getting a recall to the national team. I have never worried about those who question my ability as my performance is evident for all to see." Rauf said. "When you play four ODIs and are a man of the match in one of the games and are dropped for the fifth game, you feel there is unfinished business."

With the busy schedule of international cricket these days, Rauf will be hopeful that he can once again get the nod from the selectors and prove his worth. As Rauf concluded, "Even now I am one of the top bowlers in Pakistan domestic cricket. Inshallah I will keep working hard and hope to break back into the team."