'I think he is wasting his chances' - Manoj Tiwary’s blunt take on Abdul Samad after RCB vs LSG clash

Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) lost to the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) by five wickets in a one-sided clash in the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) played at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday, April 15.

Former India all-rounder Manoj Tiwary slammed LSG batter Abdul Samad, saying that the 24-year-old is not making the most of his opportunities. On Wednesday, he scored a two-ball duck. In five innings this season, he has scored 72 runs at an average of 14.40 and a strike rate of 110.77.

"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 told Cricbuzz.

Manoj Tiwary opined that instead of the out-of-form Abdul Samad, Lucknow Super Giants should back Shahbaz Ahmed, who has done incredibly well in the domestic circuit.

"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," the cricketer-turned-expert said.

"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," he added.

I thought they made a tactical mistake: Manoj Tiwary slams LSG think tank

Tiwary said that Lucknow missed a trick by sending in spin-bowling all-rounder George Linde as the Impact Player and not specialist batter Matthew Breetzke when they had lost their sixth wicket in the 17th over. Linde scored a run-a-ball seven and bowled just 1.1 overs.

"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.