"A few years ago, he was playing tennis-ball cricket" - Dinesh Karthik hails Haris Rauf's meteoric rise

Veteran Indian wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik has hailed Pakistan speedster Haris Rauf for his incredible rise as one of the best fast bowlers in white-ball cricket at the moment.

Rauf has shown fine form in the ongoing Hundred competition, with three wickets for the Welsh Fire in their match against the Southern Brave. With India and Pakistan set to meet in the Asia Cup next month, the speedster could be one of the major threats for the Men in Blue.

Speaking in the commentary box on Sky Sports, here's what Dinesh Karthik had to say about Haris Rauf:

"A few years ago, he was playing tennis-ball cricket. Gets picked up by the Qalandars, becomes a part of their team, and academy, and then goes on to play the league and has obviously gone on to do so well for Pakistan. He is arguably one of the better white-ball bowlers going around in world cricket now, especially at the death."

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While Dinesh Karthik hailed Haris Rauf, Stuart Broad praised Shaheen Afridi

Haris Rauf's compatriot and Welsh Fire teammate Shaheen Afridi has also been in sensational form. He picked up a couple of wickets in his very first over in the Hundred and proved just why he is arguably one of the best with the moving ball.

Former England pacer Stuart Broad was present in the commentary box as well and here's what he had to say about the left-arm speedster:

“Shaheen Shah Afridi is one of my favorite bowlers to watch in the world. He’s got such a presence about him when he runs in, and I love to see bowlers run in with energy and vibrancy to their run-up. He’s got such a natural skill — the way that ball swings back into the right-handers is such a pleasure to watch."

It will be interesting to see how the Indian batters tackle both Rauf and Afridi, with multiple encounters potentially set to take place within the next three months.