Former ICC elite panel umpire from Pakistan, Asad Rauf, has passed away following a cardiac arrest in Lahore. Rauf was 66 years old. He officiated in 64 Tests, 139 ODIs, and 28 T20Is.
He was one of the most famous umpires in the mid-2000s and was promoted to ICC’s elite panel in 2006. He had stood in his first Test the previous year and been on the one-day-international panel since 2004, having stood in his first 50-over game in 2000.
He and Aleem Dar played a key role in taking umpiring to the next level. His career took a wrong turn when Mumbai police wanted him for his involvement in IPL spot-fixing scandal. He left India before the end of that IPL season and was withdrawn from the Champions Trophy.
The ICC dropped him from the ICC’s elite panel the same year, but the body maintained it was not because his name had come up in the investigations.
Rauf protested his removal and was ready to cooperate with the ACSU. In 2016, the BCCI banned Rauf for five years.