DUBAI: Khurram Manzoor, Pakistan’s Test and ODI opener, who is representing the Karachi Kings in Pakistan Super League, said on Saturday that he feels a bit disappointed with his performance so far but hopes to improve it in the upcoming games.

Speaking to Dawn exclusively, Khurram said: “T20 cricket is all about getting a solid opening partnership. I have been assigned a certain role by the team management and even though the team is doing good and the plan has been paying off, I believe I can do much better than I am doing at the moment.

“I was the leading run-scorer in the last two domestic tournaments as well, so obviously it is disappointing to not have scored as many runs as I would have liked to,” he said. “But the tournament is still in initial stages so there is ample time for improvement.”

When asked to comment on the captaincy of Imad Wasim, Khurram said that Imad is indeed ‘leading from the front’. “He listens to everyone. Shahid bhai, Ravi Bopara, Joe Denly, Tymal Mills and Colin Ingram chip in with a piece of advice or two when a wicket falls or the situation gets tough, it is all teamwork,” he added.“We may not have many big stars in our line-up but we are a united, spirited bunch, a fact which is evident from the results,” he claimed.

When asked if the standards of the pitches have been good in PSL, he said: “From the public point of view, the pitches haven’t been up to the mark. People come at the stadiums to watch the batsmen hitting boundaries and sixes and not for low-scoring matches. Here, the teams are winning easily by defending low totals. Though, from a professional’s point of view, we are supposed to perform on all kinds of tracks and give our best. To sum it up, the tournament has been really fun thus far.”

Published in Dawn, March 6th, 2018