Bas de Leede: Off the field, I’ve not met a Pakistani I haven’t liked

It is difficult to tell, given his face seems to be almost permanently cracking with laughter lines. But Bas de Leede, the amiable allrounder from the Netherlands, does not appear to have any lasting scarring from the horrific blow he was struck by Haris Rauf back in 2022.

Neither outside nor in. There was much distress when De Leede was helped from the field after being hit near his eye by a fearsome bouncer from the Pakistan pace bowler at the T20 World Cup in Perth.

His courage was immediately apparent. He was back on the field in short time for the Netherlands at that event, playing a role in a shock win over South Africa which in fact did Rauf and his Pakistan teammates a huge favour.

They reached the final partly thanks to the Dutch. So the next time they met on the world stage, at the 50-over World Cup in India last year, it might have been easy to expect the two sides to play nice.

Not so. As soon as De Leede and Rauf were reacquainted in Hyderabad, they were straight back at it. Their rivalry has become appointment viewing, and it is clear how highly Pakistan value De Leede’s wicket.

“He even came and said it to me,” De Leede, 24, said when asked if he thought Rauf was trying to hit him again in the game in Hyderabad.

“The ball before I hit him for six I had tried to pull one but missed, and it looked pretty awkward. He said, ‘I’ll come and hit you again.’

“I said, ‘Do it!’ [Laughs]. Luckily, I hit the next one.”

De Leede is happy to be one half of such a compelling double act, even if it does mean putting himself in harm’s way. And he has full respect for his opposite number, too.

“It was funny. As a fast bowler, you have to be aggressive to make it on the big stage,” he said.

“The kindness that he showed after