IPL 2020: "He's going to be a special player" - Yuvraj, Harbhajan and Irfan Pathan laud Abdul Samad

SRH mentor VVS Laxman recruited J&K native Abdul Samad in the side.

Abdul Samad scored 33 runs off 16 balls against DC | BCCI/IPL

Former Indian cricketers Irfan Pathan and Yuvraj Singh have heaped rich praise on Sunrisers Hyderabad’s young batsman Abdul Samad for his efforts against Delhi Capitals despite his failure to help his team cross the line in Qualifier 2 of the IPL 2020 in Abu Dhabi on Sunday (November 8).

SRH were not at their best in the crucial Qualifier 2 against the Capitals and suffered a 17-run loss to DC – which meant their dream of reaching another IPL final crashed on Sunday.

After Hyderabad bowlers failed to deliver their best with the ball, seeing DC make 172/3, SRH saw a surprising batting collapse with captain David Warner going back to the pavilion after facing just 3 balls for 2 runs by Kagiso Rabada, and then things slowly got worse for the franchise.

However, Kana Williamson (67 off 45) has brilliantly tried to take the SRH over the side but failed as Rabada took 4 scalps while Marcus Stoinis 3 to won the game for DC and sealed the final spot against Mumbai Indians to be held in Dubai on Tuesday (November 10).

Read Also: IPL 2020: David Warner "proud" of SRH's campaign despite exit after loss in Qualifier 2 

Well, it was a heart-breaking defeat for SRH, but there were also some positives for the franchise too and Abdul is among those, as the young batsman tried his best and seized the pressure to stay on the crease and support Williamson on the other hand.

The 19-year-old from Jammu and Kashmir played a praiseworthy knock of 33 runs off 16 balls featuring 2 fours and as many as sixes to make his presence felt in Abu Dhabi when his senior teammates failed to score against the DC bowling attack on Sunday.

In the IPL 2020, Samad was given many chances but he couldn’t make the most of them as he scored 111 runs in 12 matches for SRH but his innings vs DC impress the former cricketers most as they praise him by saying the youngsters is going be a special player in the future.

Taking to Twitter, Harbhajan Singh wrote about the youngsters, “Abdul Samad gonna be a special & Big player in future.. played some brilliant shots today specially that pull shot against Nortje @SunRisers vs @DelhiCapitals @IPL2020 @IPL.”

While, Irfan said on Twitter: “Yes, he should have won the game for @SunRisers but really proud of #abdulsamad for showing character and power game. #1stseasonofipl.”

On the other hand, Yuvraj replied to Patha’s tweet by saying, “#samad showed a lot of promise I feel can be a special player in the future.”

 

 
 

By Rashmi Nanda - 09 Nov, 2020

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