Haris Rauf aims to get excellence in pace bowling.

LAHORE -- Haris Rauf has had a meteoric rise since he appeared in Lahore Qalandars' trials in Gujranwala two years ago.

The right-arm pacer has since gained admirers wherever he has played.

He recently made headlines during his stint in the Big Bash League, while turning out for Melbourne Stars, and used the opportunity to stake a claim in the Pakistan national men's team.

"With the T20 World Cup later this year in Australia, I wanted to put up impressive performances and prove myself in the BBL as I knew they will get me selected in the national side," Haris said here on Tuesday after joining the Pakistan team's camp.

He rose to prominence for delivering the fastest ball in those trials. Because of his ability to touch 150kmph mark, Haris has been given a nickname of '150' by his teammates.

"Nobody calls me Haris in the Northern team," chuckles Haris, "everyone refers to me as 150 and I even write 150 in my autographs."

Haris lighted up the ongoing BBL with probing spells which not only brought his quick pace in the limelight, but also his ability to use variations at crucial junctures of a match something that his hattrick against Sydney Thunder encapsulated.

He picked up first two wickets on the balls which stayed in mid-120kmphs before unleashing a 145kmph delivery that thudded on Daniel Sams pads to trap him LBW.

He was the second leading wicket-taker in the BBL with 16 wickets in seven matches at an average of 11.56 when he was named in the Pakistan side for a three-match T20I series which begins later this week. For his extraordinary run in the tournament, Haris earned praises of legendary cricketers, including Waqar Younis, former Pakistan Test captain and current bowling coach.

"Waqar bhai was in touch with me and he used to encourage me to work hard," Haris said...