Asad Rauf, a former Pakistani member of the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) elite panel umpires, passed away at the age of 66 in Lahore after experiencing a heart arrest.Prior to becoming an umpire, Rauf had a lengthy first-class career as a middle-order hitter for National Bank and Railways, participating in 71 first-class matches and averaging 28.76.
Rauf oversaw 64 Tests, 139 ODIs, and 28 T20Is during the course of his umpiring career, 49 of which he officiated on the field and 15 on television. In the middle of the 2000s, the former match official was among the most well-known umpires. In 2006, a year after making his Test match officiating debut, he was promoted to the ICC’s elite panel. He had been a member of the ODI panel for the ICC since 2004.
Prior to the era of neutral umpires, Asad Rauf was one of those who helped to strengthen the reputation of Pakistani umpires alongside Naeem Dar. The Mumbai Police listed Rauf as a “wanted to be accused” in an inquiry into a spot-fixing scandal in the Indian Premier League (IPL), where he had been officiating the games, but his career came to an abrupt stop in 2013.
Rauf departed India before that season of Indian league cricket was completed, but he was disqualified from the competition that followed, the Champions Trophy.
