*Bags Best Striker award, plays a vital role in SRH wins
STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: A murderous on slaughter he certainly is, a scalp hunter he surely is, hungry for runs and success is obviously is, but mean, he simply is not.
He is Abdul Samad, son of a Physical Education Master, Mohammad Farooq, who himself was a good club cricketer and a national Volleyball player of great repute.
One of the greatest hitters of the ball J&K has ever produced, Samad, after cementing his place in the Indian Premier League (IPL), is showing the signs of making it to Team India with his maturity, good temperament and explosive batting.
Samad who hits the ball with fluidity, power, grace, elegance and brilliance scored a thunderous rather murderous 10-ball 37 runs with 4 fours and 3 sixes with a strike rate of 370 against RCB on the other day to bag the Best Striker Award, thus keeping the flag of the Union Territory high at the national scene.
As a member of Playing XI in all the six matches played by SRH so far in the season, Samad, coming in at lower middle-order, played his role as an explosive batter, hitting 11-ball 15 against KKR, 14-ball 29 against Gujarat Titans, 12-ball 25 against Punjab Kings and 10-ball 37 versus Royal Challengers Bangalore.
“He is simply a class act when on song and butchers the bowlers with his power, punch and utmost timing. However, I reckon, he should get ample opportunity to bat in the top order to serve his cause and the cause of the team as well. SRH Management needs to give it a thought,” said one of the JKCA coaches on the condition of anonymity.
Samad has the distinction of hitting 63 sixes in 23 First Class matches, far ahead of the explosive India batter Surya Kumar Yadav’s 56 sixes in 82 Ranji Trophy matches.
Moreover, middle-order batter Samad has slammed four First Class centuries, with power-packed 71-ball ton against formidable Madhya Pradesh in the recent Ranji Trophy match at International Holkar Stadium, Indore, besides hitting a century each against Assam at Jammu in 67 balls, against Jharkhand at Ranchi in 63 balls and against Pondicherry in 68 balls.
He has always been an impact player and his explosive instinct, at any point of time can change the complexion of the game.
At the domestic circuit, Samad has played 23 First Class matches and scored 1217 runs at an average of around 40, besides scoring runs at an average of 24 and 30 in 23 List A (One-Dayers) and 73 T20 matches respectively, with a healthy strike rate in all three formats. Ready to serve the nation if given a chance.
