Abdul Samad

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Hailing from a small town in Jammu, Abdul is a fiery domestic level cricketer who is known for his power-hitting ability. He represented the Sunrisers Hyderabad in his maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) season, IPL 2020.Just like most of the Indian cricketers in their childhood, Abdul also started his cricket journey by playing cricket on the streets in his locality. With the passage of time, his interest in the game of cricket grew into an obsession. As a schooler, Abdul spent most of his idle time playing cricket.Initially, Abduls mother was less supportive of his transition into a cricketer. She used to ask him to pay more attention to studies than cricket. However, Abduls father, who himself was a national level volleyball player and a decent fast-bowler in his youth, backed Abdul to go after his passion. His father got him enrolled at Jammus MA Stadium Coaching Centre and did everything he could to help Abdul to carry forward his cricket training. Abdul Samad with his family.Abdul represented Jammu & Kashmirs under-14 cricket team for three years, the under-16 team for two years, and the under-19 team for one year. Throughout his entire junior cricket journey, Abduls performances with the bat remained average. His strike rate was good, but he failed to score big runs. Most of the times, he would throw away his wicket in trying to whack the ball for six. His batting lacked composure and patience that was required to build an inning.Eventually, a turning point came in his career in 2018, when he caught the sight of the former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan, at a selection trials camp setup at Jammus Gandhi Memorial Science College for Jammu & Kashmir senior team. At first, Irfan Pathan was awe-struck by 16-year-old Abduls batting style and his ability to hit big shots. Irfan immediately drafted him in Jammu & Kashmirs senior squad for the List-A as well as T20s. He was one of the five players that Irfan had selected out of 400. Irfan also fished out Abduls previous batting performances in junior-level cricket and found out that Abdul hadnt recorded any fifty-plus scores. Irfan kept Abdul under his canopy and groomed him to become a mature batsman. Abdul also credits his success to Irfan Pathan. Recollecting the guidance given by Irfan Pathan, Abdul said, Irfan bhai told me then that I should hit but a little selectively. He told me that if I look at scoring big runs, then I am capable of playing for India one day.On 27 September 2019, Abdul started his List-A cricket career by playing against Rajasthan in Vijay Hazare Trophy.On 9 December 2019, he participated in his first Ranji Trophy match, against Uttarakhand. He was the highest run-scorer for his Jammu & Kashmir in Ranji Trophy 2019-20 with 592 runs in 10 matches. Abdul Samad slams one above the boundary rope during Jammu & Kashmir v Karnataka, Ranji Trophy 2019-20 quarter-final, Jammu, February 23, 2020.The same year in 2019, Abdul went to selection trials for three IPL franchises. The Sunrisers Hyderabad franchise saw the potential in him and subsequently bought him for his base price of Rs. 20 lakh, ahead of IPL 2020. He is only the fourth player from Jammu & Kashmir to be the part of the highly coveted T20 tournament.On 29 September 2020, Abdul played his debut IPL match against the Delhi Capitals. Abdul Samad whacks a ball over the boundary rope on his debut IPL match.Abdul played 11 matches in the IPL 2020 and finished a few crucial games with the bat for his team.