In an interaction with espncricinfo.com during the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal against Karnataka, Jammu and Kashmir’s Abdul Samad spoke about how he couldn’t wait for the IPL to start. "People keep asking me, 'how does it feel to be in IPL?' I tell them, 'Wait, wait. I'm not there yet. I will experience it and tell you. Until then, I can only dream, like you all.'"
That dream was fulfilled on Wednesday at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi when Sunrisers Hyderabad, seeking firepower in a fragile middle-order, handed the 18-year-old the IPL debut. The strapping teenager, just the fourth cricketer from J&K to earn an IPL contract (Rs 20 lakh), faced just 7 balls against Delhi Capitals but it was enough for him to give a glimpse of his explosive talent - a powerful six off a 145 kmph missile bowled by Ainrich Nortje.
“He should have played the first game itself,” coach Milap Mewada, who spotted and groomed Samad along with former India international Irfan Pathan, tells DH. “When SRH picked him up after seeing his power-hitting in the trials, I really thought they would unleash him from game one itself. I’m happy they let him loose in the third game. What you saw of him on Wednesday is just a trailer. Kid is explosive and I wish he makes his chances count.”
A bubbly and cricket crazy Samad was just hopping from one local T20 tournament to another in Jammu. He was quite popular in the locality too, often coming in the middle order and smashing bowlers all over the ground. A life-altering event happened when he attended selection trials conducted by Irfan and Mewada in June 2018.
Both Irfan and Mewada, sought by JKCA to give the game an uplift in the valley, liked what they saw of Samad - his muscular frame, the ability to tee-off from the get-go and the natural confidence.
“We saw nearly 800 boys during the trials and Samad was among 20-25 kids who really caught our attention," said Mewada. "Irfan really took a liking for the kid. He believed this kid could go places. But Samad was very raw. We had to put a lot of work in him. Like for example, fitness and shot selection. He was built solidly for a teenager but athletic fitness is a different thing. Also, he would just go bang-bang, get those 10-ball 20s and 30s and get out. But that’s not good enough even at the domestic level. We really had to educate him about curbing his aggression and picking the right balls to hit, so that he could convert his 20s and 30s into substantial scores.”
A keen learner, Samad came under Mewada and Irfan's wings. For a Kashimiri kid with limited training and coaching facilities, the presence of those two was priceless. He absorbed all the advice imparted to him like a sponge, worked hard on his game before emerging as one of J&K’s standout performers last domestic season.
In the Vijay Hazare Trophy, he scored 237 runs in 8 games, in Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy he totalled 120 runs in 6 games while in Ranji Trophy he was J&K’s highest run-getter, amassing 592 runs in 10 games. His strike rate in all three tournaments were well over 100.
Mewada describes the Ranji Trophy as the one that changed Samad from a boy to a man. “Before the tournament started I told him how important it is to perform in the country’s premier limited-over domestic competition. Irfan and I told him attractive 30s weren’t enough to progress. Consistency and centuries are what is needed. He hit an unbeaten 103 against Assam and then smashed 125 against Jharkhand, helping us clinch an innings victory (in Ranji Trophy).
"That century against Assam – his maiden ton ever since he held a bat – changed him completely. He turned from a cameo player to a player who could win matches on his own. But that smash-everything mentality is still there, that inexperience! If he can culture his aggression, then big things are in store for him.”