Soumya Sarkar

Born in Satkhira, like his father, Soumya Sarkar wanted to become a teacher. But, thanks to his cricketing talent and BKSP - the country’s biggest sports institute, he took up a career in cricket. He played two Under-19 World Cups - 2010 and 2012. The latter fetched him headlines when he Mankaded Australia’s Jimmy Peirson in a high-stakes quarterfinal clash against Australia in Townsville.

An elegant batsman and a more-than-decent medium-pace bowler, Sarkar made his first-class debut for Khulna Division in the 2010-11 season. He made his ODI debut in the final game of the home series against Zimbabwe in December 2014, where he scored 20 off 18 balls batting at No. 3.

He was an integral part of the impressive Bangladesh set-up that defeated Pakistan, India and South Africa at home in successive series. He notched up 497 runs overall in the combined nine matches against those three strong opponents, which involved three half centuries and an unbeaten ton (133) against Pakistan. His scores of 27, 88* and 90 against the likes of Morne Morkel, Rabada, Morris and Tahir earned him the Man of the Series award.

Sarkar made his debut in the longest format against Pakistan on April 28th 2015, where he scored 33 in either innings. On the back of a couple of failures, he was dropped from the Test team. Injury to Imrul Kayes allowed Sarkar to make a comeback in the five-day format against New Zealand at Christchurch in 2017. His score of 86 in the first essay that earned him a regular place in the playing eleven. The away Test series against Sri Lanka by far till date has been his best series. He recorded three successive fifties in the two-match series which was tied 1-1. His 61 at P Sara Oval was a very important knock that helped his team win its 100th Test match - a historic match.

His numbers in T20Is have been poor. His average is below 20 playing 24 matches and is yet to register a fifty despite batting at the top. After a pile of low scores in the 50-over format, Sarkar returned back to form in the ODI tri-series held in Ireland, featuring the hosts and New Zealand in May 2017, where Bangladesh went past Sri Lanka in ODI rankings to reach the sixth spot.

Some less known facts about Soumya Sarkar:

- To emulate his childhood idols Brian Lara and Sourav Ganguly, Soumya Sarkar, primarily a right-hander switched to bat left-handed.
- He holds the joint record for the most number of catches taken in a World Cup match - 4 (with Mohammad Kaif and Umar Akmal).

World Cup through the years:

The selectors showed faith in the then 21-year old and selected him for the 2015 ICC World Cup in Australia just a couple of months after his ODI debut. Although he had just one international game against his name Sarkar in six innings scored 175 runs in the mega tournament. In 5 of the 6 games, Sarkar got off to starts but converted only of them into a fifty. Bangladesh made a historic into the quarters of the 2015 WC courtesy the all-round batting performance from the squad.

What to expect in the 2019 WC?

The left-hander doesn't have a good record in England but he will be itching to change his numbers given he has been now handed a ticket for the World tourney. Some good domestic performances have helped him break his way back into the side and he won't leave any stone unturned to vindicate his place. A few solid performances at the top of the order can do a world of good for him and Bangladesh. He is coming into the World Cup at the back of three back-to-back fifties at Dublin in the tri-series that Bangladesh won. And his last one year has also been prolific. Expect the left-hander to come up with a few handy knocks.

By - Abhinand Raghavendran and Kumar Abhisekh Das