"I Am The World No.1, Virat Kohli Is Behind Me": Pakistani Batter Makes Stunning Claim

Virat Kohli is arguably the greatest batter of his era. After a lean patch with the bat, Kohli regained his magic touch recently, and is back to his best. Kohli, who didn't score a ton for more than three years, ended his century drought last year in the Asia Cup against Afghanistan, which was his 1st hundred in T20Is. Since then, the 35-year-old hasn't looked back, smashing three centuries in his last seven ODI outings. He is just three ODI tons away from equalling former India batter Sachin Tendulkar's (49) record of scoring the most number of tons in the format.

Now, a veteran Pakistani batter has claimed that his record in List A cricket is better than that of Kohli.

During a recent interaction, Khurram Manzoor, who has represented Pakistan in 16 Tests, seven ODIs and three T20Is, was  asked about a claim he had made over his List A numbers being better than Kohli.

Manzoor, who last played for Pakistan in 2016, clarified that his intention was not to compare himself with the former India captain, but to highlight his achievements in domestic cricket.

"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. Kohli is behind me as he scores a century every six innings. I score century every 5.68 innings, which is a world record. Over the last 10 years, my average is 53, and I am ranked fifth in the world, as far as List A cricket is concerned," Manzoor said on Nadir Ali's Podcast.

The 36-year-old said that despite scoring runs in domestic cricket on a consistent basis, he has been ignored by the national selectors.

"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. I have 8-9 records (in List A cricket)," he added.

Notably, Manzoor last played for Pakistan during the Asia Cup in 2016. Since then, he has been honing his skills in Pakistan's Quaid-e-Azam Trophy and National Cup

Manzoor, who plays his domestic cricket for Sindh, has scored more than 12,000 runs in First-Class matches, and nearly 8,000 runs in List A cricket.

Topics mentioned in this article

Pakistan Cricket Team India Cricket Team Virat Kohli Khurram Manzoor Cricket