J&K minister praises IPL chairman after Kings XI Punjab picks Manzoor Dar

The Indian Premier League‘s auction saw domestic Indian players on the back of their brilliant performances get the contracts in the IPL. A number of U19 players from India attracted a number of franchisees and were sold for a lot more than their base prices. Jammu Kashmir’s hard-hitting batsman Manzoor Dar too had a fruitful day when the youngster was picked by King XI Punjab for his base price of 20 Lakhs.

Former India opener Virender Sehwag who has joined the franchise as a mentor along with team owner Preity Zinta made the bid for the 24-year-old Kashmir-born Dar. He became only the 2nd player from the state of Jammu & Kashmir to be part of the Indian Premier League. Unfortunately, the other two players who had registered themselves for the auction got no bidders. All-rounder Parvez Rasool and fast-bowler Umar Nazir’s name didn’t attract any franchise.

Manzoor’s Interesting nickname

The powerful right-handed batter has a very interesting nickname. He is known as “Pandav” among his friends and teammates. He got the name Pandav after Mahabharata’s Bheem for his massive build and strength.

Jammu Kashmir’s sports minister Imran Ansari congratulated the batsman for his selection and also thanked the IPL Chairman Rajiv Shukla. He asked the batsman to make the state of Jammu and Kashmir proud through his batting using micro-blogging site Twitter.

His Tweet:

Congratulations Manzoor Dar (Pandav). Make Jk Proud and thanks to friends who made this happen.

— Imran Reza Ansari (@imranrezaansari) January 28, 2018

In his next tweet, the minister thanked Rajiv Shukla for helping the player and providing overall support to the Kashmir. His tweet can be checked below.

I am personally thankful to Mr Rajiv Shukla Chairman #IPL who has been support for Kashmiri’s today once again showed his commitment to what he says he does. A Big thanks Sir .God Bless you

— Imran Reza Ansari (@imranrezaansari) January 28, 2018

Notably, Dar won a couple of games for his side Jammu and Kashmir in the recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, the BCCI’s domestic T20 league. It will be interesting to see the big hitter launch himself alongside the likes of Chris Gayle and Glen Maxwell. Sehwag is seemingly a natural fan of the lad given his own exploits in international cricket with the bat.