Paul van Meekeren and Haris Rauf. (Source -Twitter/X)
Netherlands pacer Paul van Meekeren gave a befitting reply to shut down a troller, who called him ‘son of Haris Rauf’. For the unversed, van Meekeren and Rauf got involved in a war of words during Pakistan’s ODI World Cup 2023 clash against the Netherlands at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on October 6.
The tall fast bowler from the Netherlands hit a glorious boundary off Rauf on the off-side before the Pakistan speedster cleaned him up with an accurate delivery bowled at 142.7 kph. After getting the last laugh, Rauf pointed to the leg stump, which had been uprooted. Pakistan went on to win the match by 81 runs, defending a score of 287.
A Pakistan fan shared a video of the entire episode on ‘X’ (formerly known as Twitter). In the caption, he tagged van Meekeren and wrote: “You are son of Haris Rauf”.
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The Amsterdam-born pacer, who had picked up the wicket of Imam-ul-Haq in that encounter, responded to the tweet with a touch of humour. Van Meekeren said that his father’s name is Paul (Adriaan) van Meekeren and if any confusion persists, he is willing to resolve them.
“Since the last 50 over World Cup I’ve had many people say this… I just wanna clarify that I’m not Haris Raif’s son, my dad is actually, funnily enough, also called Paul (Adriaan) van Meekeren!! I hope this solves any confusion… if not please reach out with your questions,” Meekeren wrote from his official X handle.
Since the last 50 over World Cup I’ve had many people say this… I just wanna clarify that I’m not Haris Raif’s son, my dad is actually, funnily enough, also called Paul (Adriaan) van Meekeren!!
I hope this solves any confusion… if not please reach out with your questions 🫶 https://t.co/CZeDhFXk2Q
— Paul van Meekeren (@paulvanmeekeren) May 24, 2024
Pakistan eventually finished at No. 5 on the points table in the 10-team tournament. Meanwhile, the Dutch side showed promise during the campaign and pulled off upset wins against South Africa and Bangladesh. However, they eventually ended at the foot of the table.
Pakistan and Netherlands will be in action in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024. However, they have been placed in separate groups.