It was a treat to watch Soumya Sarkar bat during his return-to-form unbeaten 58 at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury stadium yesterday. The national top-order batsman, who excites the crowd with his flurry of strokes, was going through a rough patch as he ended with scores of 20, 17, 18, seven and five in the last five BPL matches.
Hailing from Satkhira, a natural run-scorer and dominating batsman by character, Soumya did not let his well-wishers, and most importantly himself, down as he re-established his presence at the top of Rangpur’s line-up.
The platform was laid for him to get some confidence back as the left-hander carried his bat through the innings to anchor Rangpur’s nine-wicket victory over Chittagong Vikings chasing 112.
“I had a bit of pressure, not from the team but from my own self. Because I was not able to perform to my abilities (earlier). I am still not satisfied. I think I could have done much better had I made the most of my last few inning,” said the 22-year-old.
He continued, “In the last few matches I did not manage to play more than 10 balls in any one of them. So (yesterday) I tried not to leave early, stay on the wicket for a while. I tried to play as many balls as possible.”
However, the hectic schedule combined with the business end of the BPL means more pressure for the top-half teams. Simultaneously, the national cricketers are also expected to riase the bar as Soumya said, “I am not relieved. There are more matches ahead. I do not think there is any such thing as relief for the players. There is a lot more pressure in the upcoming matches.”
“The target is always the same, to score more runs. And for everyone, for the national players too. I do not think there is anyone who is set for the T20 national team. Everyone has to perform and prove themselves.”
When queried as to what he was doing to rectify his mistakes, Soumya compared his 56-ball knock to his ODI start where he struggled to play big innings’ initially. “I think the problem is similar to my early stages of the ODIs. I used to get out in 20s and30s and faced similar questions. I think I was just hurrying a bit too much because this is T20 cricket. If I can get out of that mood (mindset) it will be better.”
