Haris credits Babar for his success as Pakistan mainstay.

KARACHI -- Running in and bowling with raw pace was never a problem for Haris Rauf. After all, he had done it all his life with the tape ball and replicated the ability at HBL Pakistan Super League franchise Lahore Qalandars' trials.

But after proving his mettle as a Qalandars product at club level in Australia, the Big Bash League and the PSL and making his Pakistan debut, he eventually started struggling with his economy as a bowler.

Until October 2021, the right-armer was leaking runs at nearly nine per over in Twenty20 Internationals, but in the year and a half that followed, he brought his economy rate down to less than eight.

Haris' transformation was evident during the 2021 T20 World Cup, in which he took eight wickets at an average of 21 while conceding 7.3 runs per over, which led Pakistan to the tournament's semi-finals.

The 2021 T20 World Cup was also the first time Pakistan looked like a close-knit unit under their captain Babar Azam, who marshaled the side to the finals of the T20 Asia Cup and the T20 World Cup in the year that followed, with Haris being one of the central figures in their journey in becoming one of the best white-ball sides in the world.

For Haris, the main man behind his emergence as PakisAtan's main death bowler in the shorter formats is none other than Babar.

'I strongly believe that the improvement in my performance is all because of Babar Azam,' Haris told Dawn. 'We played really good and exciting cricket in the last two years.

'In this period, we emerged as a good unit, especially in white-ball cricket, and the credit goes to our skipper Babar Azam, who trusted the abilities of players, which ultimately gave us the confidence.'

While Babar enjoys Haris' respect as the leader of the group, the pacer has got a special place in his heart for fellow quick and Pakistan's pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi

His pairing with Shaheen has symbolised itself as Lahore Qalandars identity, with both bowlers staying associated with the franchise since the start of their PSL careers.

Even in the Pakistan shirt, Shaheen's support has motivated Haris to do better.

'Shaheen Shah Afridi is a great support from the other end, he said. 'We have a very strong bond, and it helps me to keep enhancing my bowling skills. '

Haris had to do without Shaheen after the latter was ruled out for nearly six months after picking up an injury during Pakistan's tour to Sri Lanka in July. Shaheen was unavailable for the Asia Cup and the...