Celebrations in Kashmir as Manzoor Dar is picked by the Kings XI Punjab

As Kings XI Punjab managed to bag Manzoor Dar in the IPL auction, the people in his hometown went frenzy. Hailing from the state of Jammu & Kashmir, Manzoor Dar has been known as a big-hitting all-rounder. He is also quite an economical bowler as far as his record is concerned. The 24-year-old has played 9 T20s in his career with 6 wickets and moreover, an impressive economy rate of 6.47, something that is considered by many to be fantastic in the context of T20 cricket.

Known for his power-hitting, Manzoor won a couple of matches in the recently concluded Mushtaq Ali T20 North Zone tournament for Jammu and Kashmir. With Parvez Rasool not participating in this edition of the IPL Auction, Manzoor Dar is the only Kashmiri to take part in the upcoming season. Even Preity Zinta was overwhelmed watching the celebrations as she tweeted the same.

Preity Zinta shares a video of celebrations at Manzoor Dar’s hometown

Reacting to the video, Kings XI Punjab owner Preity Zinta was elated as she gave him a heartwarming welcome: “Omg! This is fantastic.  Welcome to @lionsdenkxip #ManzoorDar.”

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

Omg ! This is fantastic ? Welcome to @lionsdenkxip #ManzoorDar ? https://t.co/Fsl2jORQ6M

— Preity zinta (@realpreityzinta) January 29, 2018

Manzoor Dar: A big hitter of the ball

Not having a rich background, Manzoor used to carry out blue-collar jobs to help the family in meeting the ends. His father is a laborer. However, that didn’t drive him away from following his cricket passion. He was soon spotted by the coach of Jammu & Kashmir Cricket Association Abdul Qayoom while playing club cricket in North Kashmir. His coach describes as a good all rounder and a great learner.

“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. 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.”

The coach wasn’t surprised at all with him getting a bid at the auctions. Indeed, he was always expecting that to happen soon. He further told that they were all proud of his achievements and expected him to perform better at the big stage.

A look at the KXIP Full Squad for IPL 2018 season