Adelaide Strikers have signed Pakistan fast bowler Haris Rauf for the entire BBL season 16, adding pace to their attack.
Rauf has played 33 Big Bash matches for Melbourne Stars since 2019, taking 56 wickets. He is the third international signing in head coach Tim Paine’s squad, joining England’s Ben Stokes and New Zealand’s Mark Chapman.
“The Strikers have a strong squad with world-class players like Ben Stokes, Matt Short and Mark Chapman, so I’m really excited about the opportunity to play alongside them,” Rauf said in a statement.
Rauf took 20 wickets last season, equalling his career best, and shared the BKT Golden Arm award with Gurinder Sandhu as the league’s top wicket-taker in the regular season. He took a hat-trick in his first Big Bash and made the team of the tournament in BBL season 9.
The right-armer has also taken 22 wickets in 19 games this year across the PSL for Lahore Qalanders and Major League Cricket for San Francisco Unicorns. He is Pakistan’s second-highest wicket-taker in T20 internationals with 133 wickets.
Adelaide Oval, the Strikers’ home ground, is the venue where Rauf took 5-29 in 2024 to help Pakistan win their first ODI series in Australia in 22 years.
Rauf is set to play his first match for the Strikers against Sydney Thunder in Canberra on December 16. The club has signed 13 of the 18 players allowed in a BBL squad and has now filled its limit of three overseas players.
