An open letter to Soumya Sarkar after his coming of age knock
Dear Soumya,
I have been a fan of yours for the last three years. During the Under-19 World Cup in Australia in 2012, you caught my attention and since then your progress has been a matter of great interest for me. I always used to gather updated information about your domestic performance and after talking to people who have witnessed you play, my eagerness to watch your style of stroke-play increased immensely. As because, according to them, you use the cricket bat like the brush of a painter.
I kept waiting to watch your batting on TV and finally my wait was over when you made your international debut against Zimbabwe last year at Mirpur in the fifth and final one-day international (ODI). You came to bat at number three and dispatched four boundaries to script a fluent 20-run knock. Four of those boundaries were wristy and sweetly timed. It seemed that your wrists were wrapped with silk. Your stay at the crease was short but very brief and conveyed me a message that a spectacle is about to unleash his artistry to the cricketing world.
I was delighted when you were picked in the World Cup squad and got a chance to play in the very first match against Afghanistan. And immediately, your batting style caught the attention of one of cricket’s most prolific writers Christian Ryan, who wrote, “ A shot by a young batsman, when it is the first time you have really noticed him, can do that. It is just a shot. But we can spy something in a shot greater than the sum of that shot's actual parts. There is a glimmer that comes to us in a moment of high excitement and no doubt. No way possible could this shot have been more perfectly played, and though it is not the shot we'd expected, given the particular ball bowled, it is unquestionably the right shot”.
Very few batsmen can make a fan believe that he’s born to achieve greatness, very few batsmen can give a fan the glimpses of an artist and very few batsmen can time the ball and use the wrists so efficiently at such a young age. Over the years, Bangladesh did gift the cricketing world some exciting batters, but sadly, most of them had been inconsistent and faded away like the early morning dew. Among those exciting willow-wielders, there were hardly any artists who could trigger charm among those critics who relish witnessing spectacles. Thankfully, you have emerged from Bangladesh, whose artistry is expected to amaze and charm the purists.
Till the third ODI against Pakistan, your short-and-brief knocks entertained everyone, but to make a mark in international cricket, a batsman needs to be hungry for big scores. Your promising knocks tend to meet a sad end because you used to get carried away after smothering consecutive boundaries which dents your focus and make a mess of the footwork. Adjustment of your focus was needed and the zest to spend more time at the crease was the order of the day.
It didn’t take enough time to realize your weakness and it was evident in the third ODI against Pakistan where you clobbered a fluent hundred to help Bangladesh to essay the historic Banglawash. You hinted that you are all set to graduate to the next level. You exhibited composure alongside aggression, which is much needed to survive in this topsy-turvy world of international cricket.
At present, you are the talk of the town and Bangladesh’s print and electronic media have tagged you as a star. Such things are quite natural in Bangladesh and for which you need to be cautious. You should keep your feet on the ground and never let success get into your head. Celebrity status must not deter your focus from cricket and the less you interact with the non-cricketing people, the better it will be for you.
Soumya, you are not only an asset for Bangladesh cricket, but also for world cricket as well. This is just the beginning for you and you have a long way to go. At present, world cricket lacks delicate stroke-makers and you’re one of them. It will be sad if you fade away.
So be careful while handling the successes and celebrity status.
With regards,
A Bangladesh cricket fan.