Does Khurram Manzoor deserve a run in the ODI side?
Another domestic 50 over game, another Khurram Manzoor 100. This is becoming a sort of norm. At one point, last year he had 16 centuries in 30 list A games and had scored three consecutive hundreds. After this performance, Mohammad Wasim the former Pakistan opener called him the Kohli of Pakistan’s domestic cricket and fan were taken aback.
Virat Kohli of Pakistan Domestic cricket !!
16 hundreds in Last 30 List A Innings for @_khurrammanzoor , Amazing Run !! #Performer pic.twitter.com/kZAjuEOFSK— Muhammad Wasim (@MuhammadWasim77) February 8, 2018
While, Khurram Manzoor has had some chances at the international level, last he played One day international Cricket was in 2009. This clearly is the format which suits him most. His list A average is 53 at a strike rate of 84. These are prolific numbers and speak for themselves. There has to be some improvement in his game.
He became the bone of contention b/w the ego fight between Waqar Younus and Shahid Afridi and ended up being dropped after a couple of T20 games. A format he wasn’t suited to, picked on the performance of 50 over cricket, playing under a captain who clearly preferred Ahmed Shehzad and a coach who wanted Salman Butt.
We keep going back to Ahmed Shehzad. We have Imam ul Haq, on basis of one good 1st class season. Why not give a go to Khurram Manzoor? Like Fawad Alam, he isn’t a pretty batsman. He uses the bat more like an axe, his pulls are hoicks, he falls over trying to scoop the ball. But not many play good looking drives straight to the fielder than Ahmed Shehzad. That investment clearly is going to waste. In Fakhar Zaman, we have found a match winner, for a brief period Khurram Manzoor might be the answer.
