Cricketers are asked all sorts of questions during interviews, but Haris Rauf was certainly not expecting the one Wasim Akram shot at him after Pakistan defeated England by six runs on Wednesday. Rauf was the most successful Pakistan bowler picking up 2/41 and although he was a tad expensive, the 28-year-old pacer really cranked it up on the speedometer and dented England's progress. After the match got over, Rauf was part of a special feature with the legendary Pakistan captain Akram as the two sat down to discuss the nuances of the game.
Rauf shed light on his recent string of impressive performances, revealing that all through, his aim as to operate on a stump-to-stump line. Rauf has picked up most of his recent wickets by clean bowling the batter, which goes to highlight how seriously he has taken his approach. Akram weighed in on Rauf's red-hot form and pointed out a couple of things that has really impressed him about the Pakistan pacer.
"Haris' wicket-taking ability impresses me. And he enjoys those pressure moments. When he gets smashed for runs, he comes back with the same speed rather than panicking. That I think is the secret of his success. In Karachi, he bowled a yorker, conceded just 5 runs and picked up two wickets. What a match-winning over that was. We are all proud of Haris and I think he is one of the best bowlers in T20 cricket," Akram said.
But while the former Pakistan captain did not shy away from singing Rauf's praises, he came up with a rather unexpected question, which had absolutely nothing to do with cricket. While Rauf was bowling his final over, he accidentally swallowed a bug, or so Akram pointed out. Day-night matches in Pakistan often witness a swarm of bugs and Lahore was no different. Having spotted the incident between Rauf and the bug, Akram bowled a verbal bouncer to the Pakistan quick.
{{/usCountry}}But while the former Pakistan captain did not shy away from singing Rauf's praises, he came up with a rather unexpected question, which had absolutely nothing to do with cricket. While Rauf was bowling his final over, he accidentally swallowed a bug, or so Akram pointed out. Day-night matches in Pakistan often witness a swarm of bugs and Lahore was no different. Having spotted the incident between Rauf and the bug, Akram bowled a verbal bouncer to the Pakistan quick.
{{/usCountry}}"Ek question cricket se thoda sa hatt kar hai. Abhi last mein aap ne ek moth khaya hai. Bhawra… aur kya kehte hain? Parwana and Moth. Kaisa tha taste? (I have a question which is not related to cricket. Just now during the end, you accidentally ate a moth. What else do you call it? Wasp as well. How was the taste," he asked.
Check out the question in the below video from the 4:20 mark
But instead of being bowled over. Rauf's reply was equally witty. "Pata nahi kidhar gaya? Chala gaya hoga andar. Jab mai bhaaga toh woh muuh ke adar aa gaya. Who galey mein phas gaya. Samajh nahi aaya kya karu iska. Ab main khans raha tha. Ab pata nahi bahar nikla ki andar gaya (I don't know where it went. Must have gone in. When I was running, it accidentally entered my mouth and then got stuck in my throat. I didn't know what to do so I started coughing. But I have no idea whether I was able to throw it out or I swallowed it)," was Rauf's million-dollar reply.