Asad Rauf was a Pakistani cricket and a former umpire who was a member of the ICC Elite Umpire Panel from 2006 to 2013. He died on 14 September 2022 due to cardiac arrest in Lahore.
Wiki/Biography
Asad Rauf was born on Saturday, 12 May 1956 (age 66 years; at the time of death) in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. His zodiac sign was Taurus. He attended Government College University Lahore, Lahore.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 8″
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Black
Family
Parents & Siblings
There is not much information available about his parents. He has two brothers, Tahir Rauf, and Adnan Rauf.
Wife & Children
The name of his wife is not known.
Asad Rauf’s wife
He has two sons, Fahad Malik, who is a sales manager.
Asad Rauf with his son Fahad Malik
In an interview, he said that his other son is a special child.
Relationships/Affairs
In 2012, Leena Kapoor, a Mumbai-based model claimed that she was in a relationship with Asad.
Asad Rauf with Leena Kapoor
Religion/Religious Views
Asad follows Islam.
Asad Rauf reading namaz
Career
Cricket
Asad played domestic cricket for the teams National Bank of Pakistan (1983-1991), Lahore (1983-84), Pakistan Railways (1981-1983), and Pakistan Universities (1977-78). He was a right-handed batsman and right-arm off-spin bowler. He made his debut in first-class cricket on 4 November 1977 in a match held between Pakistan Universities and Habib Bank Ltd. He played his last first-class match on 28 October 1990 which was between the National Bank of Pakistan and Pakistan National Shipping Corporation. He made his debut in the list- A match as a part of Pakistan Railways on 17 March 1981 held between Pakistan Railways and House Building Finance Corporation. His last list-A match was held on 2 October 1991 which was between the National Bank of Pakistan and Pakistan National Shipping Corporation.
Umpiring
Asad became an umpire in 1998. In 2004, he became a member of the International Panel of Umpires. The first ODI that he umpired was Pakistan v/s Sri Lanka in 2000. In 2005, he umpired the first test match held between Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. The first T20 match umpired by him was India v/s Afghanistan in 2012. In 2013, he umpired the last IPL match between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Hyderabad. In 2006, he was included in the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires. During his umpiring career, he umpired in 47 Tests, 98 one-day internationals and 23 Twenty20 internationals.
Controversies
Charged for sexual exploitation
In 2012, a Mumbai-based model, Leena Kapoor filed an FIR against Asad for sexually exploiting her. In the FIR, she stated that Asad did not fulfil his promise of marrying her after being in a relationship for six months. After the complaint, she also shared some intimate images of her and Asad. In the FIR, she further said,
He told me about his marriage and said that his wife lives somewhere in Lahore, Pakistan. But he said that he was a Muslim and he was allowed to marry twice. He also said that his wife and children will come to our marriage.”
Later, Asad in an interview said that he was not in a relationship with her, and their pictures were taken after Leena claimed to be one of his fans. He further added that she was doing all this to gain fame. In the interview, he further said,
I am 56 and happily married with two kids and at my age how can I promise to marry anyone else. I don’t know why she is doing this but if she continues to defame me and cause me and my family pain than I will take legal action against her. The allegations levelled by her are preposterous and she is just making this story up to gain cheap publicity and fame.”
Involvement in IPL spot-fixing
In 2013, Asad’s name was involved in the IPL spot-fixing after which ICC withdrew him from the panel of match officials for the 2013 Champions Trophy. On 21 September 2013, Mumbai police conducted an investigation against him for illegal betting, cheating, and fraud. He was found guilty in 2016, and he was banned for five years by the ICC.
Death
On 14 November 2022, he died due to cardiac arrest after returning home from his shop.
Facts/Trivia
- Asad owned a shop in Landa Bazaar and ran an iron and metal business. In an interview, he said that he would run his business if he was not an umpire.
- In 2005, he umpired a boxing day test match between Australia and South Africa.
- In 2008, Asad was questioned on his decision given in the Mohali Test against Australia when Virender Sehwag was out on Mitchell Johnson’s ball, but Asad declared him not out. In the interview, he said,
Asad Rauf had a hobby of branded T-shirts, shoes and spectacles. At the time, I was a brand ambassador for Adidas. So shoes, glasses. I joked with him about the T-shirt and told him not to give out while batting. Surprisingly, he did just that.”
- According to some media reports, he continued to smoke even after he underwent two open heart surgeries.
- In 2016, he was accused of betting and was banned by the ICC for five years. In an interview, he said that’s was accused in 2013, but the case was reopened in 2016 by the BCCI. In an interview, he said all the allegations are wrong and said,
The alleged incident happened in 2013 and BCCI was sleeping for three years. They opened an investigation in 2016 and it was a forced investigation as there was no truth in it. They failed to produce any concrete evidence against me. I still have the judge’s decision, which says that there is no evidence in the case.”
- In 2022, a video of Asad selling second-hand shoes and clothes in his shop in Lahore’s Landa Bazaar went viral on social media. People were shocked to see such a successful umpire selling clothes in his hometown. In an interview, he talked about this and said that he was doing so to pay money to his staff. In the interview, he further said,
It is my habit to reach the peak of whatever work I do. I started work as a shopkeeper, and I have reached my peak. I played cricket, I reached my peak. And then when I started out as an umpire, I said to myself that I need to reach the peak here as well.”
Asad Rauf in his shop selling clothes
- In an interview, he said that the Pakistani players should be given knowledge of various appeals made to the umpire. In the interview, he further added,
Umpiring is not an easy job by any stretch of the imagination. The standard of umpiring in Pakistan has gone down because of a variety of reasons, which includes lack of monetary incentives and absence of technical people for the role.”