Kashmiri Cricketer Manzoor Dar Reveals Some Insights After Being Picked By KXIP In The IPL Auction
The two-day event of IPL 2018 Auction wrapped up that was held in Bengaluru. The eight franchises participating in the 2018 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) have gone to new extents to buy the players. Earlier, the franchises retained a few players from their previous teams and some of them were expected though some were surprising.
In the auction, there are many unexpected picks that shocked the cricket fans like Chennai boy Ravichandran Ashwin made his way to the Kings XI Punjab, it was an eerie moment for all the fans back in Chennai, with Chennai Super Kings bagged Harbhajan Singh in a cross-state transfer. Whereas, Delhi bagged Gautam Gambhir, Glenn Maxwell.
In Punjab team, there are many new faces like KL Rahul, Chris Gayle, Finch, and Ashwin. Apart from the international player, many of the budding talents, as well as the experienced campaigners, came into the limelight at the auction. One such face is the Kashmiri cricketer Manzoor Dar.
He has come into the estimations when he was bought by the Kings XI Punjab for his base price of Rs 20 lakhs. The story of the youngster seems to be very inspiring as he faced many struggles from his childhood. He did various jobs such as security guard, carpenter, etc for the living. He also tried his hand at weightlifting and Kabaddi.
Manzoor was spotted by J&K Cricket Association coach Abdul Qayoom when he was playing club cricket in the border district of Bandipora in North Kashmir. Cricket was his passion and he always remained connected with the game. “He is a good listener. He listens to the advice and also implements it for the greater good of himself and the game”, said Qayoom.
Manzoor is the second cricketer from Kashmir to feature in the IPL, after Parvez Rasool. Rasool failed to attract a single bid during the auction. The other player from Kashmir, fast bowler Umar Nazir, was also not picked by any team. Manzoor stated that he was thinking to be selected in the state team and also was pretty excited to get picked in IPL in the auction.
Watch How J&K People Were Celebrating After Manzoor Got Picked By KXIP:
Celebrations in native village of Manzoor Dar alias Manzoor Pandav in Bandipora who was taken by @lionsdenkxip.
Amazing … Best of luck Brother @pandav_manzoor ..#LivePunjabiPlayPunjabi@realpreityzinta @virendersehwag @OmarAbdullah @awasthis pic.twitter.com/khN0Q3baTM— Ravi Pratap Dubey (@ravipratapdubey) January 29, 2018
He said that the major advantage towards featuring in the IPL that can work to be a great improvement in his game. “Before the auction, I was only thinking about playing for the state, but I was also hopeful that I could get an IPL call-up. Not that I was thinking about it all the time. I was just concerned about improving my game and left the rest to the almighty,” said Manzoor.
Further, he said he did not get the opportunity to meet anyone from Punjab franchise but he attended the trails for Rajasthan Royals, before the auction. “No, I had not met anybody from the Punjab franchise. In fact, I was giving trials for Rajasthan Royals. I really do not know how Punjab picked me. It could be possible that they have seen my videos and also taken into account the fact that I am among the top 15 domestic players with the highest strike rates,” he added.