LAHORE/ISLAMABAD: Asad Rauf, former International Cricket Council’s (ICC) elite panel Pakistani umpire died at the age of 66 due to heart failure in today.
Before becoming umpire, Rauf had a substantial first-class career as a middle-order batter playing for National Bank and Railways.
Asad Rauf officiated 64 Tests, 49 of which as on-field umpire and 15 as TV umpire, 139 ODIs and 28 T20Is.
He was one of the most prominent names in the mid-2000 when it comes to the umpires. He was on the ICC’s ODI panel since 2004 and was elevated to the ICC’s elite panel in 2006, just a year after he debuted officiating a Test match.
Along with Naeem Dar, Rauf was among those who contributed to improve the reputation of Pakistani umpires prior to the neutral umpires era.
However, his career ended in 2013 when the Mumbai Police named him as a “wanted to be accused” in a probe into a spot-fixing controversy in Indian Premier League (IPL) where he had been officiating the matches.
Though Asad Rauf left India before that edition of Indian league cricket ended, but he was ruled out from the Champions Trophy tournament that came soon after. Later that year, ICC dropped Rauf from its elite panel.
The former umpire claimed innocence throughout this time and expressed willingness to cooperate with the ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit.
