IPL 2022: Best Benched XI from the fifth week of the season

6. Abdul Samad

The Jammu & Kashmir cricketer debuted in the 2020 IPL season and displayed his power-striking abilities. Abdul Samad has been with the Sunrisers Hyderabad since his debut and has played 25 games scoring 226 runs with a healthy strike rate of 142.1. He plays with an aggressive approach in the middle order and is a handy wrist spinner. He played a few short, eventful knocks in the 2020 & 2021 editions for the Sunrisers Hyderabad.

He was bought again by his first franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad for INR 4 crore in the 2022 IPL. He hasn’t got enough opportunities as he has played only two games so far. Sunrisers Hyderabad is doing pretty well this season as they have won 5 out of their 8 games and are currently at 4th place in the points table. Their bowling has been their strength but the batting department can be bettered by including Abdul Samad to strengthen their lower-middle order. 

Abdul Samad can give them that boost in the middle order and occasionally could be used as a floater to shift the momentum early on in the innings. As the tournament progresses, there will be some matches that can go down the wire, in such moments the services of Samad can turn out to be very fruitful.