RIP Asad Rauf: Pakistan's most prominent umpire and the former member of the ICC elite panel Asad Rauf has passed away at the age of 66. Rauf who had a stellar run as an umpire in the mid-2000s was elevated to ICC's elite panel in 2006. The late umpire from Pakistan had been a part of 64 Tests (49 as an on-field and 15 as a TV umpire). He also officiated in 139 ODIs and 28 T20Is.
Asad Rauf officiating a Test match
Rauf officiated in his first Test match in the year 2005 and had been an integral part of the ODI panel since 2004. The late umpire stood in his first ODI in 2000. Rauf, alongside Aleem Dar seemingly was a very popular figure and did his very best to improve the reputation of Pakistani umpires before the era of neutral umpires began. Rauf's umpiring career took a major jolt when all was going well for him. The Mumbai Police, after a detailed investigation, accused Rauf of being a part of the IPL spot-fixing scandal in the year 2013. As a result, Rauf left India before the end of that IPL season and was withdrawn from the Champions Trophy. Amidst all the whirlwind of accusations, Rauf was dropped from ICC's elite panel. The International Cricket Council (ICC) refrained from giving any concrete reasoning and clarified that they did not drop Rauf due to the IPL fixing scandal.
Asad Rauf in Test match
Rauf challenged the allegations throughout and at times was very vocal about his return. Rauf said that he was more than happy to cooperate with the ACSU. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) 2016 banned Rauf for five years on four different charges of corruption and misconduct.
Apart from his umpiring career, Rauf had a first-class career as a middle-order batter before he stepped into umpiring shoes. Rauf used to play for National Bank and Railways, averaging 28.76 from 71 first-class matches.
