Manan Vohra

Indian cricket has always remained synonymous with talents and Manan Vohra is no exception. 'An outstanding talent' in the words of 2011 World Cup winning hero, Yuvraj Singh, Manan climbed up the ladder by piling on the runs in age group cricket. He was fast-tracked to the domestic setup at an early age of 17 but took his time to establish himself there.

On the back of his exploits in the Under-19 World Cup, the right-handed top order batsman was snapped by Kings XI Punjab for the 2013 Indian T20 League season. Manan enjoyed an instant impact with his range of strokes but hasn't managed the kind of consistency that he would have liked to have. Predominantly a top order player who has a flair for taking on the bowlers, Vohra's dismissals have mostly been rash and loose on a frequent basis to frustrate the think tank.

Arguably, Manan's accumulation of runs in the 2013-14 domestic season provided ample proof of his burgeoning potential. He hit his maiden ton (187) against Jharkhand to propel Punjab to a massive innings win. He is no Sehwag though, who can thwack the ball but on his day. Manan is a game-changer when on song, as he can take the bowling apart effortlessly.

IPL through the years

Impressive domestic performances in the 2012-13 season saw Manan Vohra getting an IPL contract with the Kings XI Punjab, his native franchise. The first two seasons saw him impressing immensely with his shot-making ability. What was striking about Vohra was his skill in manufacturing incredible shots out of
not-so-bad deliveries, almost at will. The brashness of the age meant that there were many rash dismissals but his talent was unquestionable. Despite getting a solid platform to push himself up the ladder in India’s batting department, Vohra failed to consolidate on the gains, enduring below par IPL
seasons thereafter barring 2017 when he had a reasonable season including a sensational innings of 95 against a quality SRH bowling attack.

Not being a regular starter also hampered Vohra’s growth for a considerable amount of time although this can’t be mentioned as an excuse. Any quality player will tell you that you need to pounce on the limited opportunities in the initial stages to get the luxury of a long rope and this is where Vohra hasn’t
really stamped his authority. A brief stint with Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2018 season saw no signs of improvement and at the 2019 auctions, Rajasthan Royals picked him in a bid to boost their domestic batting department. Still very young, Vohra has time to turn things around but it remains to be
seen if he will get many opportunities at RR who already have some big names in the top order.