One of the heartwarming tales which this year's edition of the IPL brought to light was of Sunrisers Hyderabad's (SRH) young middle-order batsman, Abdul Samad.
The talented right-hander from the valleys of Jammu and Kashmir caught the attention of cricket lovers with his ability to hit big sixes in the closing stages of the innings.
While opportunities to bat were limited for Samad in an SRH batting unit already glint with the presence of David Warner, Jonny Bairstow, Manish Pandey and Kane Williamson, Samad wasn't overshadowed by them as he batted with a fantastic strike-rate of 170.76 across 12 innings.
After a superb season, Samad, however, revealed he wasn't always this good with the bat and lacked patience in identifying the right ball to go after, an issue which former India pacer and ex J&K team mentor, Irfan Pathan, helped him resolve through prudent suggestions.
"After playing Under-19 one-dayers when we came back home, there was a camp set up, where Irfan bhai had come. Irfan bhai saw me batting, and he asked why I was not able to score the big runs. I told him that I lacked a little patience," said the 19-year-old Samad in a YouTube video made by SRH.
Irfan, who has seen Samad develop from close quarters, told the youngster he should look to score big runs and encouraged him to eye an India cap.
"He (Irfan) 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," said Samad.
Recently, Indian batting great, Yuvraj Singh, nodded in agreement with Irfan when it comes to Samad's talent, saying he can be a "special" player in future.
"Yes he should have won the game for @SunRisers but really proud of #abdulsamad for showing character and power game," tweeted Irfan. To which, Yuvraj replied: "Samad showed a lot of promise I feel can be a special player in the future."
