Last Updated on 4 months ago by Charbel Coorey
Haris Rauf is one of the most popular overseas players in the Big Bash League (BBL). Despite not playing last season, Rauf is an integral member of the Melbourne Stars in the ongoing edition of the tournament, as he was in previous years as well.
The pacer is regarded as one of the quickest bowlers of this era. Rauf’s USP is his death bowling. Additionally, the Lahore Qalandars player has picked 13 wickets from the first seven games of the BBL 2025-26 and has been in strong form so far.
During an exclusive interview with Arvind Kalyana Krishnan at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) for CricBlog, Haris Rauf drew light on his journey at the Melbourne Stars. He stated that this is his second home and acknowledged the constant support from management. The express pacer also spoke about his thoughts on playing alongside the likes of Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis.
Further on, Rauf also mentioned the fact that playing in the BBL is good preparation for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup. While appreciating the quality of talent in Australia, he said that this league is very “competitive” and thus, one can learn a lot. The 32-year-old is a key player for Pakistan in the shortest format of the game and has already taken 133 wickets in 94 T20I games.
Haris Rauf interview: Playing in the BBL is good preparation for the T20 World Cup
Below is the entire conversation between Arvind Kalyana Krishnan and Haris Rauf:
Arvind Kalyana Krishnan: With the way you’ve been playing so far in the Big Bash, we have the T20 World Cup very soon, so do you think that this is a good preparation for the T20 World Cup?
Haris Rauf: Yeah, obviously…..Especially when you’re playing in Australia, you can see that the local talent is very…..I mean, there’s a very good competitive cricket. So when you’re playing over here, there’s a lot of time to learn. So obviously that can help us in the World Cup as well.
Arvind Kalyana Krishnan: You’ve been playing for the Stars for so long. There are a lot of fans for you over here. So can we say that outside Pakistan, this is your second home?
Haris Rauf: Yeah, you can say that this is my second home. I grew up as a cricketer in Australia, especially the Melbourne Stars…..which was my first team. They gave me an opportunity over here so obviously, I feel like I’m at my home, and they also treat me like a family. Always love to play here for the Melbourne Stars.
Arvind Kalyana Krishnan: In Melbourne Stars, Maxwell and Stoinis have been playing with you for a long time. So with the way we see, they’re very nice people. So how is your experience playing with Stoinis and Maxwell?
Haris Rauf: Yeah, they both are world-class players and I always learn from them. I always speak to both of them and they have good experience in T20 cricket so for me it’s very easy to talk to both of these guys.
