KARACHI: After being in the wilderness for three and half years away from Pakistan side, Khurram Manzoor pledged on Sunday to make his second coming count to prove himself at the highest form of cricket during the upcoming Zimbabwe tour.

Naturally relieved at his recall to the Test squad, the right-handed opener expressed his gratitude to all those who kept faith in him.

“Of course I feel happy, in fact very relieved, to be considered for the national side. The selectors have given me another opportunity to prove myself as a Test cricketer and if I do get a chance to play, I’ll try my utmost to justify my selection for the coming tour,” Khurram said while talking to Dawn in an exclusive interview.

Khurram, born in Karachi on June 10, 1986, was understandably pensive when asked to express his feeling during the long absence from international arena.

“Yeah, at times I felt extremely frustrated [to be left out] because nobody tried to tell me as to why I had been dropped despite performing well in that match in Hobart,” Khurram said while recalling his last Test appearance against Ricky Ponting’s side at the Bellerive Oval. “It hurts a lot when you do well and then find yourself neglected, particularly when nobody is prepared to explain the reason behind this [sidelining] decision.”

Khurram was inexplicably banished from the national side despite top-scoring with 77 while batting at No. 3 in the second innings of the Hobart Test in January 2010 during the ill-fated tour of Australia when Pakistan lost all three Tests as well as the limited-overs matches.

Former Test opener Mohsin Khan, who took over following the resignation of Iqbal Qasim as the chief selector, never considered Khurram for senior team selection during his tenure nor did Mohammad Ilyas (as interim chief of the selection committee while Mohsin served as Pakistan coach) as well as Iqbal Qasim during his second term as chairman of selectors.

The only internationals Khurram played during this period were ‘A’ Tests in Sri Lanka and the West Indies. In the two-match series in the Caribbean, Khurram struck back-to-back centuries in the four-day ‘Tests’ at the Arnos Vale Ground in Kingstown, St Vincent’s in November 2010.

Khurram credited his comeback to the national team to Rashid Latif, the former Pakistan captain and wicket-keeping great, who had worked hard on the batsman’s weak areas.

“I owe a lot to Rashid [Bhai] for playing a huge part in eliminating the flaws in my batting style since the day I joined the Port Qasim Authority (PQA) team. I used to shuffle a lot in the crease. As a result I got into trouble at times. Rashid then advised me to get out of this habit because by doing this I was giving bowlers big advantage,” Khurram reveals. “Now I try to play [the ball] as late as possible so that I don’t get trapped in the crease. This technique has improved my game tremendously.

“It is the key factor that has definitely helped me become a better player than I used to be. And because of this big change [in batting stance] I have managed to get runs on consistent basis during the past 10 months,” Khurram, who accumulated 2104 runs in all forms of the game since last October, pointed out.

Khurram, who made 73 as a 16-year-old on his first-class debut for Karachi Blues against Peshawar in December 2002, remembers his debut Test series against Sri Lanka in early 2009 with mixed feelings.

“I got 27 in my first Test innings in a game dominated by Younis [Bhai] who made an unforgettable triple century [313] as a captain. It was a privilege for me to part of that side.

“In the next match, I was batting on 59 at stumps on the second day. When went back to the hotel that evening I was thinking of scoring a century the next day.

“But that horrified terror attack [March 3, 2009] on the Sri Lanka team which was on its way to the Gaddafi Stadium, sadly shattered those aspirations and left me devastated because it’s not everyday that one got a golden chance of scoring a Test hundred.”

Khurram, who has scored 326 runs in seven Tests at a modest average of 29.63 with three half-centuries, was philosophical about the Zimbabwe tour.

“This is the time to prove myself that I’m good enough to be playing international cricket. I want to contribute as much as I can towards the success of Pakistan side,” Khurram, who has also scored 236 (average 33.71) in seven ODIs with three 50-plus innings, remarked.

“The onus is on me now to perform and help the team win. I’m grateful to the Almighty for providing me with another opportunity to serve my country in all three formats of cricket and not just Test matches!”