Soumya Sarkar

A stylish left-handed batsman and a handy right-arm fast bowler, Soumya Sarkar is an asset to Bangladesh national team and is one of the most experienced players in the current squad. 

The southpaw was an integral part of the U-19 Bangladesh squad in two World Cups in 2010 and 2012. At the 2012 U-19 Cricket World Cup, he grabbed the headlines for mankading Australia’s Jimmy Peirson.

He made his first-class debut playing for Khulna Division against Dhakka Division on December 4, 2010 in the National Cricket League. His fantastic achievements at a very young age made him a crowd favourite, which motivated him to perform on bigger platforms. 

Known for his dashing playstyle, he was added to the national squad in 2013 but his chance to showcase his skills on an international level came almost a year later. Soumya made his ODI debut against Zimbabwe on December 1, 2014 where he had a decent outing leading to Bangladesh’s victory. 

Despite being fairly new to international cricket, he was picked in the squad for the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup. Soumya holds the record for taking the most catches in a single World Cup match alongside Mohammad Kaif and Umar Akmal. After a decent outing in the World Cup, he was included in the squad against Pakistan for both limited-overs formats. Soumya hit his maiden ODI ton against Pakistan on April 22, after which Bangladesh clean swept the Men in Green 3-0. The ODI series established him as a regular in the ODI squad. He made his T20I debut against Pakistan on April 24, 2015 but was run out for a duck without even playing a single delivery.

The real high point in his career came when he was awarded as the player of the series in South Africa’s tour of Bangladesh. Sarkar became the first player to hit a double century in the 2018-19 Dhaka Premier Division Cricket league. His score of 208 not out against Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club became the highest individual score in List A cricket.

His consistent rise in both domestic and international level as a handy all-rounder added an extra flavor to Bangladesh's 2019 World Cup squad. Soumya was included in the T20I squad in March 2019 just after his marriage where he returned to score an impressive 62 off 32 balls to win the game for the Tigers which was also his highest individual score in the T20s.

Still being relatively young in cricketing terms, Soumya Sarkar has achieved a good amount of records and accolades in his international career. Being an integral part of the Tigers, he still has a lot to accomplish and with his presence on the field. This young batsman can end up being one of the greats in the Bangladesh cricketing fraternity. 

(As of March 2021)