On Sunday, Virender Sehwag and Preity Zinta’s Kings XI Punjab picked up Kashmiri batting sensation Manzoor Dar for this edition’s IPL. Dar, nicknamed, Pandav after the Mahabharata’s Bhim for his immense strength and size.
On Sunday, Virender Sehwag and Preity Zinta’s Kings XI Punjab picked up Kashmiri batting sensation Manzoor Dar for this edition’s IPL. Dar, nicknamed, Pandav after the Mahabharata’s Bhim for his immense strength and size.
Known for his power-hitting, he was won a couple of matches in the recently concluded Mushtaq Ali T20 North Zone tournament for Jammu and Kashmir.
He was bought by KXIP for his of Rs 20 lakh and will be teaming up with big man Chris Gayle, who was also picked at the fag end of the auction.
On Monday, a video of people celebrating Manzoor Dar’s entry into IPL went viral on social media.
Reacting to the video, KXIP owner Preity Zinta: “Omg! This is fantastic. Welcome to @lionsdenkxip #ManzoorDar.”
However, other J&K cricketers were given a miss. Parvez Rasool, who was capped wasn’t even part of the auction, while Umar Nazir didn’t fetch any bids.
Coming from a humble background, Manzoor was spotted by J&K Cricket Association coach Abdul Qayoom when he was playing club cricket in border district of Bandipora in North Kashmir.
“He was playing for local clubs in Bandipora. But when I saw his talent, we brought him to Srinagar. Given his penchant for big hits, he was included in the T20 team”, Qayoom told DNA.
Manzoor did not disappoint the team either and became one of the star performers in the T20 tourney last year. "He is a big hitter of a ball. In one of the matches at Dharmashala, he hit a huge six which was more than 100 yards. I have not seen such a big hit so far”, said Qayoom.
In fact, the coaches were expecting him to make debut in IPL last year given his performance. “Last year he was a very good performer and we were expecting him to be picked for the IPL. It is a proud moment for all of us that he has been picked up”, said Qayoom.
Son of a labourer, Manzoor used to do odd jobs to help the family in meeting the ends. 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.
His coach said Manzoor can also bowl medium pace in the match. “He is a batting all rounder who can bowl three, four overs with medium pace easily”, said Qayoom.
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