Sarkar awaits chance as competition grows up top

The question of when a cricketer secures a place in the playing XI lingers, especially after Soumya Sarkar was left out against Pakistan in the recent home ODI series. Soumya had scored a match-winning 91 against West Indies in Bangladesh's previous home ODI series, appearing in good form.

Ahead of the New Zealand series, head coach Phil Simmons stressed Soumya needs to keep pushing himself to earn a spot. On Thursday, skipper Mehidy Hasan added that the experienced opener remains in the team's plans, even as competition intensifies. Tanzid Hasan and Saif Hasan are currently the first-choice opening pair.

Left-handed opener Tanzid had a productive Pakistan series in February, playing a quickfire 67 in the opening match and scoring his maiden ODI century (107) in the third game to seal the series. Saif endured a difficult series against Pakistan, with scores of 4, 12, and 36, but showed promise in an intra-squad practice match with an unbeaten 138 off 133 balls.

Mehidy noted the importance of form and opportunities, highlighting the advantage of a 100-plus opening partnership in the last series. He emphasized that even small contributions like 10, 20, or 25 runs can be impactful, and these factors are considered.

However, Mehidy insisted Soumya should not be disheartened, believing everyone will get a fair chance. He stressed the importance of keeping Soumya in the squad to avoid him feeling left out, ensuring he trains with the team and has facilities to improve for a confident return.

Whether Soumya gets a chance against New Zealand remains to be seen, but he did not look out of sorts during the intra-squad game, scoring 55 off 85 balls.