Syed Abdullah

Upon settling in New York with his family, it was his cousins passion for the sport which encouraged him to get involved. Syed, along with brothers Waqas and Bilal Shah (Syed’s cousins whom have also made a mark on cricket in the New York region), would often travel over 2 hours each direction on the Subway from Brooklyn to Queens to play cricket or take part in a cricket development program that was being run at the time.

Clearly Syed had a natural ability as a batsman, because in 2005 he was picked for a US U15 team to travel to the Cayman Islands for a series of matches. However, upon arriving at JFK to join the squad he was told he could no longer travel with the team as he didn’t have the required documentation. In a last ditch effort to get his son on the plane, Syed’s father drove him hurriedly to Manhattan to try and secure the required permits. Unfortunately it was not to be – they were simply too late.

Syed’s father, who was obviously feeling tremendously disappointed for his son, offered Syed some encouraging words that would become for him a source of motivation whenever things got tough. He said… ‘Don’t drop your head, you’ll be a big player one day.’ Upon reflection, It was that small moment in his father’s car that cemented Syed Abdullah’s desire to pursue cricket seriously.

And so he set about destroying bowling attacks in local cricket. His reputation as a fearsome striker of the ball became almost legendary in New York and the surrounding states, yet the selectors never came calling. He had become almost as legendary amongst his friends for his ability to run over people playing full contact football (no pads – no helmet), which is where his nickname of ‘Tank’ originates.

In 2016 he attended the ICC Americas combine held at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, and in tricky batting conditions was the most effective batsman on display. But yet again he was overlooked.

Finally later that year new USA Men’s coach Pubudu Dassanayake invited Syed to attend a USA squad camp in Indianapolis. He impressed sufficiently enough to get selected for the ICC World Cricket League division 4 tournament in Los Angeles.

He is yet to nail down a permanent spot in the top US XI, but keep your eye on Tank. You get the feeling there is more to come from Syed Abdullah.