CHENNAI: Backing the youngster from Jammu and Kashmir, Hyderabad skipper David Warner tosses the ball to Abdul Samad to bowl the final over with Chennai needing 28 to win on Friday night. Despite the fact that one of the best finishers of the game MS Dhoni is at the crease, the Aussie opener is confident.
So was Mohammad Farooq, Samad's father, who was glued to his television set at his home in Sidhra town of Jammu.
But the confidence gave way to some tense moments as the legbreak bowler sent the first ball down the leg side that went past all the fielders for five wides. "With that, the equation came down to 23 off 6 and I knew Dhoni could do it. But he (Samad) remained calm and delivered what was expected of him," father Farooq told The New Indian Express.
The father was tense but Samad wasn't. "I spoke to him today (Saturday) and he said the plan was to bring Dhoni out of the crease so that he could be stumped. Those five extras didn't bother him at all as he told me he was confident of defending the remaining runs. Even Dhoni told him 'well bowled' after the match," added Farooq.
Spotted by former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan in 2018, the then 16-year-old was soon fast-tracked into senior cricket. He made his T20 debut, hammering an unbeaten 51-ball 76 against Nagaland in the 2018-19 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy to hand J&K a 9-wicket win.
Heaping praise on the youngster, Pathan said: "All the credit goes to him and his character. He is a fearless guy and that's his biggest asset. Even if he gets out, he is the guy who will smack it again. When you play at this level, you need to believe in yourself. He has shown in these first two IPL games that he is capable of doing great things," Pathan told The New Indian Express.
But the transformation from under-19 cricket to senior side and IPL didn't happen in a day. It took a lot of counselling from Pathan to make sure Samad met those expectations. "For him to move from U-19 cricket to first-class cricket was a big jump. He didn't even play U-19 cricket for a long time. So for us, it was like everyday counselling making sure that he goes through a lot of good stuff, hard word and shows some urgency in bowling and batting."
Pathan added, "Generally to make him understand what it requires to be a really good cricketer rather than a cricketer who just plays U-19 cricket or first-class cricket. I want him to play IPL, play for India. He has already played IPL and started really well."
Before that final over, the 18-year-old had bowled three overs claiming the wicket of Kedar Jadhav and conceding only 21 runs. "I am sure the ball was wet and the way he managed the last over it was brilliant. More than the last over, the 15th over he bowled, that could have changed the game, but he only gave away 8 runs against the likes of MSD and Jadeja that was crucial," Pathan said.
Farooq, an employee of department of youth services and sports, once harboured dreams of playing cricket for J&K and the country. The medium pacer, however, couldn't achieve his dream but ensured everything so that his two sons — Tayyab and Samad — could pursue their passion of playing cricket.
"I shifted from Kala Kot to Sidhra in 2009 so that my sons can get good education and also opportunities to play cricket. But again this wouldn't have been possible without Irfan bhai as he was the one who spotted Samad and guided him day in and day out to make him the cricketer he is today. All credit goes to him and Parvez Rasool, the J&K skipper."
Given the way he maintained his composure in that tense final over, Samad looks ready for some more memorable performances this IPL.