Umran Malik, Abdul Samad Retained For 4 Crore Each By SunRisers Hyderabad, Muralitharan Explains Why

SunRisers Hyderabad youngsters Umran Malik and Abdul Samad were among the four uncapped cricketers retained in the IPL retention on Tuesday. Malik and Samad were both retained by SRH, which turned out to be one of the biggest surprises of the night especially because of the franchise's decision to part ways with seasoned leg-spinner Rashid Khan. Sri Lankan spin legend and current SRH bowling coach Muttiah Muralitharan and SRH director of cricket Tom Moody explained the rationale behind their decision to put faith in two uncapped cricketers for 4 crore each ahead of the IPL 2021 mega auction. 

Moody said Kane Williamson - who was SRH's first choice for 14 crore - Samad and Malik will lay a strong foundation for SRH's success in the IPL. 

"We are delighted to inform that the following players have been retained ahead of next year's mega auction. Player No.1 Kane Williamson, our captain. Player No.2 uncapped Abdul Samad and player No.3 Umran Malik also uncapped. We believe these players will lay a strong foundation of success for the next season and beyond," said SRH's director of cricket Tom Moody on Star Sports. 

Muralitharan said the decision to retain Samad and Malik was taken keeping the franchise's future in mind. 

"Kane is one of the best captains and his performance in the IPL for us has been quite good. He has scored 700 runs for us in a season, he's that kind of a player. We wanted to secure the captain first and that's why we went for Kane Williamson. The other two players are the most talented young players and we knew this is a team for three years so looking at the future, we have gone ahead with them," he said. 

Both Samad and Malik's rise have been nothing short of a fairy tale. Malik came in as a short-term replacement for left-arm pacer T Natarajan in the UAE leg of IPL 2021 after the latter was diagnosed with COVID-19. The right-arm seamer grabbed eyeballs by clocking speeds in excess of 150 km/h in all three matches the he played. 

Malik, who was drafted into the Indian side as a net bowler during the T20 World Cup in UAE after his impressive show in the IPL, is currently touring South Africa with the India A squad.  

Samad, on the other hand, was first roped in by SRH ahead of IPL 2020. While the right-handed batter who is also a handy leg-spinner too has not taken the stage by fire but in the 23 matches that he has played so far, he has shown potential of turning into a notable T20 finisher. 
 

Topics mentioned in this article

IPL 2022 Sunrisers Hyderabad Muttiah Muralitharan Abdul Samad Umran Malik Cricket