Former Indian batter Manoj Tiwary believes Lucknow Super Giants hard-hitter Abdul Samad is wasting his opportunities in the ongoing IPL 2026. Samad was dismissed for a second-ball duck against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru on Wednesday.
The batter from Jammu and Kashmir has scored 72 runs in five matches at an average of 14.40 and a strike rate of 110.76 in the ongoing season. Thus, he has failed to deliver the goods for Rishabh Pant’s team.
Manoj Tiwary said on Cricbuzz, “For Abdul Samad, I think he is wasting his chances. A lot of matches have gone and he hasn’t delivered. I remember a match against KKR, where two overs were left, and wickets were falling. He did score 35 runs, but even at that time, I felt he could have looked to play till the last over and gone for the big shots then. There has been a mistake in his decision-making.”
Tiwary said Bengal’s all-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed, who had performed consistently in the domestic circuit, is waiting in the wings.
He added, “They have Shahbaz Ahmed in the squad. He is from Bengal and has also played for India when Axar Patel was injured. He gives you a left-arm spin option, and the way he has performed in domestic cricket, you will be surprised to see him not make it to the playing XI despite scoring so many runs across formats.
“They started with him, but did not show enough trust. He will give you a left-arm option that Linde gives, and you will get a better batter. He will cover up for both Samad and Linde,” Tiwary added.
On the other hand, the former Bengal cricketer reckons LSG’s think tank could have used Matthew Breetzke as an Impact Player ahead of George Linde.
“I thought they made a tactical mistake today. You have Tom Moody in your dugout, who has been here as a director or coach for so many years. Justin Langer has also been here for two-three years. You had Matthew Breetzke in your team. You could have sent him because he is a pure batter who plays aggressively, but you sent George Linde. He did not bowl much. You gave him just 1.1 overs,” he chimed in.
Lucknow Super Giants will next take on Punjab Kings at New Chandigarh on Sunday.
