A prolific scorer in Pakistan's domestic limited-overs circuit, Khurram Manzoor's story is that of the typical prodigy who failed to translate his talent into solid performances in international cricket. He first burst into the scene for the national side in 2008, having been picked for the ODI side at that point. A stroke maker whose game revolves highly around the massive power that he generates on his shots, Manzoor was touted to be a solution to Pakistan's opening woes in the 50-over format. Fifties in his first two matches was the perfect start as well for Manzoor who however, went on to feature only in another five more ODIs. A career average of 33 might appear below the mark for an opener but three fifties and a thirty from seven innings doesn't look poor at all. In fact, Manzoor had just two successive failures after which he was never picked in white-ball cricket. Perhaps, the rate of scoring might have gone against him as he proved to be more of an accumulator than an aggressor - an irony really considering his power game.

While it can be said that Manzoor was unfairly treated in ODI cricket, there can be no excuse for his non-performance in the longest format. It's another matter that he perhaps wasn't suited for the format - a fact that is proven from his First-class numbers as well. The inconsistency was glaring as he often failed to string in a series of impressive scores. Another fact was his failure to score against stronger opponents.
He had the skill, as demonstrated by his dogged fifty against Australia in Hobart and a fine ton against South Africa in Abu Dhabi although both venues are generally quite batting-friendly. After a while, the selectors decided to omit Manzoor from the Test side as well in 2014 after having
shown no signs of upping his game. Over the last few years, he has continued to score runs, particularly in white-ball cricket. A sparkling century in the National T20 Cup 2017 is proof of the development Manzoor has shown as a limited-overs batsman. The hunger is still there in him to play for Pakistan but with his age in the 30s and the national side in the midst of a purple patch in limited-overs cricket, it will be a huge ask for him to stake a claim in the side with so much of competition. However, if he keeps churning out a mountain of runs, a comeback cannot be ruled out either.

Written by Hariprasad Sadanandan