Srinagar: In a brazen claim that is sure to turn into headline and draw serious reaction from fans and crickters, a Pakistan batter has claimed that he is No.1 in 50 over format and has better conversion rate than batting superstar Virat Kohli and has over the years being ignored by Pakistan selectors.
Khurram Manzoor, a right-handed batter from Karachi, speaking to Nadir Ali on his YouTube channel, was asked about a claim he had made in his List A numbers being better than that of Kohli.
He clarified that although his attempt was not to compare himself with the star India batter, but to rather highlight his achievements in domestic cricket amid selectors’ repeated denial.
“I am not comparing myself with Virat Kohli. Fact is, in 50-overs cricket, whoever are there in the top-10, I am the world no.1. After me stands Kohli. My conversion rate in List A cricket is better than him. He scores a century every six innings. I score century every 5.68 innings. And based on my average of 53, over the last 10 years, I am ranked fifth in the world in List A cricket. I also have scored 24 centuries in the last 48 innings. Between 2015 and now, whoever has opened for Pakistan, I still remain the leading scorer among them. I am also the top scorer and century getter in national T20. Yet I get ignored. And nobody has ever given me a solid reason for that,” he said.
Khurram Manzoor, a right-handed batter from Karachi, has appeared in 26 international games for Pakistan – 16 in Tests, seven in ODIs, and three in T20Is – with his debut in 2008.
Khurram has so far scored 7992 runs in 166 List A appearances with 27 tons, implying a century every 6.11 innings. His average of 53.42 is presently the sixth-best in the world among batters who have played at least 100 or more innings. Kohli, on the other hand, has scored 14215 runs in 294 innings with 50 tons, implying a century every 5.88 innings.