After appearing in 170 international matches, the former Pakistani umpire Asad Rauf, now leads a life far away from cricket – as the owner of a second-hand clothes shops in Lahore’s Landa Bazaar.
One of the greatest Umpires in ICC
One of the greatest Umpires in ICC, Asad Rauf has had quite a fascinating career as long as he was involved in the game. He has appeared in 170 international matches between 2010 to 2013 including 49 Tests, 98 ODIs, and 23 T20Is. Nevertheless, the Pakistani umpire faced allegations of match-fixing in IPL 2013, post which he was banned from all forms of cricket in 2016. Six years later, Rauf now leads a life far away from cricket – as the owner of a second-hand clothes shops in Lahore’s Landa Bazaar.
Rauf said that he no longer has an interest in cricket after the ICC removed him from the Elite Panel of Umpires. “I’ve umpired in so many games all my life, there’s no one left to see now,” Rauf said adding, “I haven’t been in touch with the game since 2013, because once I leave something I leave it completely.”
According to reports, Rauf was alleged to take hefty bribes from bookies in exchange for fixing matches during IPL 2013. It is after this incident, that he was handed a five-year ban in 2016 after several investigations took place. Denying the allegations, Asad Rauf has pretty good memories of the cash-rich league. “I have spent my best time in IPL, apart from these issues that came later on. I had nothing to do with these issues, the allegations came from the BCCI’s side and they took the decision on me themselves.”
A second-hand shop
The Landa Bazar in Lahore is famous for providing cheap and affordable clothing, shoes, and other goods. Quite a few shops are known for providing exchange or selling options of second-hand goods.
Rauf, who has his own shop racked up to the top with clothing and shoes, says he isn’t doing the work to satisfy his own needs but that of his staff. “This isn’t for me, this is the daily wages of my staff, I work for them,” he said.
“I have no greed. I have seen a lot of money, and I have seen the world, with the protocol. One of my sons is a special child. The other one has just come back from America (US) after completing his graduation. I read the Namaz five times a day. My wife reads the Namaz five times a day.”
“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,” said the former ICC elite panel umpire.
Here’s the full video:
Ex Test Umpire Asad Rauf Open Shop in Landa Bazar … Shrugs off @virendersehwag Bribery claims … He quit umpiring due to his son critical health condition…#asadrauf#umpire #icc @humnewspakistan @humnews_urdu pic.twitter.com/ZILx6MinMk
— Usman Khan (@usmann_khann) June 23, 2022
