One hundred and seventy This is the number of international matches for Asad Rauf, in which he has officiated from 2000 to 2013. This includes 49 Tests, 98 ODIs and 23 T20 Internationals. He was part of the elite panel of ICC umpires. However, now in 2022 the same Asad Rauf runs a shop in Lahore’s Landa Bazar. He is no longer interested in cricket.
66-year-old Asad Rauf recently said in an interview to a Pakistani news channel (Paktv.tv), ‘No, when I have fed my entire age, now who has to watch it.’ He was asked if he is associated with the game these days. He said, ‘I have stopped cricket after 2013 at all… because I leave the work I leave.’
Rauf was banned by the BCCI in 2016 for five years. The disciplinary committee found him guilty of corrupt practices and defaming the game. He was accused of accepting expensive gifts from bookies and being involved in a match-fixing controversy during IPL 2013. Asad Rauf said, ‘Apart from these issues that came later, I have spent my best time in IPL. He said, I did not have anything to do with him, he came from his side (BCCI) and he took the decisions.
Asad Rauf was also in the news in 2012 due to allegations of sexual abuse of a Mumbai-based model. The model had claimed that she had an affair with a Pakistan umpire because of her promise to marry her, but later backed down. Asad Rauf had denied these allegations ten years ago. However, when asked about this, he said, “When the girl issue came up, I even went to the next year to get the IPL done.”
Rauf says his umpiring career began when the ICC asked Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) CEO Majid Khan to improve the umpiring standards coming from Pakistan by introducing cricketers and educated personnel to the system. It was a disappointment for the other teams.
His career graph went downhill after he was accused of corrupt practices during the sixth edition of the IPL. However, on his off-field ties, Rauf only said that the players and even his colleagues enjoyed his company.
Asad Rauf said, ‘My habit is such, jolly mood. This is the reason why players, even their wives, are always ready for my company. They say that Asad bhai enjoys a lot in your company. Lahore’s Landa Bazar is famous for cheap and affordable clothes, shoes and other accessories. There are many shops selling and buying used goods.
Asad Rauf’s shop is also chock-full of clothes and shoes. However, he is not doing this to fulfill his own needs, but to fulfill the needs of his employees. He said, ‘Brother, this is not my job, it is my staff’s livelihood, I do this for them.’
He said, ‘I have no greed. I’ve seen a lot of money, and I’ve seen a world with protocols. My son is a special child. The other has just returned from America after completing graduation. I pray 5 times a day. My wife offers Namaz 5 times a day.
Asad Rauf, former umpire of the ICC Elite Panel, said, ‘It is my habit, the work that starts, I take it to the top. I have started the work of the shop, I have reached the top of it too. I have played cricket, went to the top of it too and then I started umpiring, so I thought it should also go to the heights.