Pic: Sunrisers Hyderabad/Twitter
Srinagar, September 21: “Will Abdul Samad feature in Sunrisers Hyderabad’s playing XI tonight?”
This is the question people in Jammu and Kashmir are asking as Sunrisers Hyderabad gear up to face Royal Challengers Bangalore tonight in their first match of IPL 2020.
Owing to his flamboyant cricketing skills, Samad, the only J&K cricketer playing in IPL this year, is highly expected to make it to the first XI. He finished Ranji Trophy as the highest run-getter for J&K as well as scored most number of sixes in the premier tournament.
Hyderabad have been lacking someone who could clear the ropes with ease in the middle order, so Samad surely has been picked to fill that spot. Since he could roll his arms and bowl those handy leg-breaks, his chances of appearing in playing XI improve further as surfaces in UAE help tweakers.
However, Sunrisers could also think of playing somebody like Abishek Sharma instead as he also brings the variety that they need.
Nonetheless, if cricket pundits and media giants like Cricbuzz and Cricinfo are concerned, Samad will make the cut.
This though will only be known when David Warner moves out for the toss at 7 PM tonight.
Sunrisers Hyderabad Squad: David Warner(c), Jonny Bairstow(w), Manish Pandey, Virat Singh, Vijay Shankar, Abdul Samad, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, K Khaleel Ahmed, Sandeep Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha, Shreevats Goswami, Siddarth Kaul, Mitchell Marsh, Kane Williamson, Shahbaz Nadeem, Bavanaka Sandeep, Billy Stanlake, Fabian Allen, T Natarajan, Basil Thampi, Sanjay Yadav, Abhishek Sharma, Priyam Garg
Expected playing XI: David Warner (C), Jonny Bairstow (WK), Manish Pandey, Virat Singh, Vijay Shankar, Abdul Samad, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Siddarth Kaul