Former Pakistan umpire Asad Rauf on Thursday (September 15) passed away due to suspected cardiac arrest. Rauf breathed his last at the age of 66. Rauf officiated in 64 Tests -49 as on-field, 15 as the third umpire- 139 ODIs (98 as on-field, 41 as the third umpire) and 28 T20Is (23 as on-field, 5 as the third umpire). He was one of the finest umpires of his time. He joined the ICC elite panel in 2006 a year after officiating his first Test.
Rauf's career was ruined by charges of spot-fixing and match-fixing in cricket matches, and in February 2016 he received a five-year suspension after being found guilty of corruption. As a result, Rauf left India before the end of that IPL season and was withdrawn from the Champions Trophy. Amidst all the whirlwind of accusations, Rauf was dropped from ICC's elite panel. The International Cricket Council (ICC) refrained from giving any concrete reasoning and clarified that they did not drop Rauf due to the IPL fixing scandal. Apart from his umpiring career, Rauf had a first-class career as a middle-order batter before he stepped into umpiring shoes. Rauf used to play for National Bank and Railways, averaging 28.76 from 71 first-class matches.
