Manzoor wants to use Pak tour of New Zealand to establish himself

KARACHI - Pakistani batsman Khurram Manzoor, who will be making his comeback to the national team after 11 months, has said that he would use the tour to New Zealand to establish himself in the team.

Manzoor, who was a late addition to the Pakistan squad for the upcoming tour of New Zealand, said that he was not too disappointed to see his name initially missing from the squad.

“When I got to know that I hadn’t been included on the tour of New Zealand, I immediately set a new goal for myself: to perform well in the remaining five matches of the ongoing Quaid-e-Azam Trophy and make a strong case for my inclusion in the probables for the 2011 World Cup,” PakPassion.net quoted Manzoor, as saying.

“However, the following day, the selectors decided to include me in the squad as a reward for my performance on the Caribbean tour,” he added.

Manzoor was the most successful batsman for Pakistan ‘A’ on the tour of the West Indies last month.

The 24-year-old scored 55 runs in the two Twenty20 matches, and followed it up with 98 runs in three ODIs at an average of 32.7, before scoring 289 runs at a tremendous average of 144.50 in the unofficial Test series.

“I am extremely happy to be selected to play for Pakistan. I will try my best to continue my good form and perform well for Pakistan. I will work very hard on my batting, fitness and fielding in the coming days, so that I do not waste my chance as and when I get it,” Manzoor said.

Pakistan will begin the tour with a warm-up game against Auckland on December 23.

It will be followed by three T20s, two Tests and six ODIs. (ANI)