Cricket fans in Jammu and Kashmir erupted in joy when the Punjab Kings raised their bid to acquire Manzoor Dar during the 2018 Indian Premier League (IPL) auction.
In many ways, Dar’s entry into the most well-known cricket league in the world became iconic.
Dar was purchased for Rs 20 lakh, making him the second cricketer from Jammu and Kashmir to sign an IPL contract.The cash-rich IPL was like a dream come true for Dar, who had previously worked as a watchman and a woodcutter for a living. Numerous stories with headlines like From watchman to IPL and Manzoor journey from rags to riches followed in the media. Even the 24-year-old at the time believed it would bring an end to his suffering and put an end to his struggles.
However, the outcome was not quite as he had anticipated. Dar got a lot out of spending time in the Punjab Kings’ dressing room with some of the best cricketers, but he didn’t get to play. What’s more, obviously, he was delivered by the establishment in front of the following IPL season.
Dar is either back where he started or even worse off now, four years later. Whenever I play, thousands of cricket fans follow me and come to watch. But now that Manzoor was unable to achieve financial stability, they must be wondering, Where would we go? On the sidelines of a local cricket match in Bandipora, north Kashmir, Dar disclosed this information to Forbes India.
Dar was participating in an unusual tournament with a local team
I can’t do anything else. He said, I would have to return to labour work or I wouldn’t be able to feed my big family if I didn’t play these local matches.
Dar’s dad is a worker while his mom is a housewife. He has seven siblings—three brothers and four sisters—who are all single and unemployed. Dar, as the eldest, is in charge of taking care of them.
My mother is ill, my sisters have reached the age of marriage, and all of my siblings are in school. I never asked any of the local teams to pay me to play, so I paid for it myself. However, I am now out of options. He stated, I still don’t ask them to pay me—whatever they give, sometimes Rs 2,000, sometimes less, and sometimes more—this is the only income I generate at the moment.
What could welcome his life in the groove again? I have played cricket my entire life with the intention of making my state proud. I believe that any cricketer or athlete who represents the state at a higher level deserves at least a stable job. As a result, he made a remark, I also just want a job so that those who take inspiration from me aren’t disappointed and continue playing the game.
Dar agreed with Samiullah Beigh, the former captain of the Jammu and Kashmir cricket team
who said that giving sports stars jobs was the least the government could do for them.Dar, who comes from a small Bandipora village, has trouble when it rains because he can’t play local cricket and make a living. He is unsure whether he will be able to run his house now that the winter season has arrived in Kashmir.