Opening batsman Khurram Manzoor named in the Pakistan squad for the next month’s ICC World Twenty20 in India, being amazed of surprise inclusion for mega event.
Khurram Manzoor, who last represented Pakistan in a Test match in 2014, has returned to the side after scoring big in the National T20 Cup and against the England Lions recently.
According to local media report, Khurram said, “The moment I came to know of my inclusion [in the Pakistan squad] for the two tournaments in the afternoon, I had no words to say. For a while, I became speechless and just kept staring at my wife who was sitting with me at the time”. “I just couldn’t believe my fortune had changed at that particular juncture after the huge disappointment of being overlooked for the PSL. But now I have this over-the-moon sort of feeling.
“Perhaps, this [Pakistan selection] was destined for me. I thought for a while, that one shouldn’t never give up and keeping trying. Almighty Allah has been very, very kind to me in this regard since I always as hard as others to improve my game and better the skills. Nobody approached me to explain as to why I was overlooked the PSL. I was flabbergasted and felt deeply hurt by the treatment meted out to me,” he added.
His last selection to Pakistan's limited-overs teams came more than six years ago, in 2009 against Sri Lanka. He scored 309 runs at 28.09 in the domestic T20 competition last year and was not selected by any of the five teams in the ongoing Pakistan Super League. His selection remains the most contentious among the 15-man World T20 squad. The same squad will play in the Asia Cup as well.
The T20 Asia Cup is scheduled to be hosted by Bangladesh from February 24 to March 6 followed by the T20 World Cup in India from March 8 to April 3.
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