Soumya unfazed by criticism of reverse-sweep dismissal

Bangladesh opener Soumya Sarkar said on Saturday that he will continue to back his strengths, whether it brings success or not.

The left-handed batter, who returned to the ODI setup after being dropped for the opening game against Australia, made 42 before attempting a reverse sweep against Matthew Renshaw and spooning a catch to the fielder at slip.

After losing Tanzid Tamim early, Soumya and Najmul Hossain Shanto stitched together an 86-run stand for the second wicket that proved to be the backbone of the chase.

Many feel Soumya should not have played the reverse sweep at that stage, though the left-handed batter begged to differ.

"Of course, the innings could have been bigger. If I had played that shot after reaching fifty, maybe nobody would be asking this question. But the shot I played is one in which I have a high success rate, so I felt it was worth playing," said Soumya.

"I wasn't successful this time, that's true. But at that moment I felt that if I played it and succeeded, it would have looked good. Now that it didn't come off, it looks negative. If I get a similar opportunity in the future, I will still back myself to play that shot," he said.

Soumya said he and Najmul decided to counterattack as they felt it was the best option.

"When Tamim got out, if you keep getting bogged down against a big team, they keep coming harder at you. They were trying very hard to take wickets. So Shanto and I were thinking about playing normal cricket, attacking cricket, so that they could not dominate us," he said.

"Look, the situation was such that the target was small. If we had thought about taking our time and then lost another wicket, the game would have shifted towards them. We didn't give them that opportunity," he added.

Soumya, who has been in and out of the national team, insisted that it is difficult to adjust after a break but added that communication in this regard is much better than it was earlier.

"It's not only for me but the same for any batter. When you play an international match after a long gap, there is pressure on everyone," said Soumya.

"We are cricket players. Whatever situation comes, we have to play according to that situation and try to give something good to the team," he said.

"It's much better now (communication between management and players after getting dropped). Things are much clearer. They try to inform and explain why something is happening. The team also has a goal, and everyone is moving within that framework regarding what is going to happen. So it is much clearer now than before," he said.

While Bangladesh had a muted celebration after clinching the series, Soumya believed they had already achieved something to cherish.

"Actually, first of all, the fact that we won the series should have been celebrated much more by all of us because it is a huge achievement. I don't know how much we did, but it deserved bigger celebrations," he said.

"Of course, it would be very big (if Bangladesh sweep Australia 3-0 in the ODI series) but, as I said first, winning the series itself is already a huge achievement and should have been celebrated properly. If we can win 3-0, it will be an even bigger achievement for us. That will be everyone's goal. We will play positive cricket, and whichever team performs better in all three departments will win," he said.

Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Cricket Board announced that it has added offspinner Mahedi Hasan to the squad for the third and final ODI against Australia at the SBNCS in Mirpur as cover for Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who returned home after undergoing hospital assessment following a blow to the head in the second ODI.

The 31-year-old Mahedi has played 11 ODIs for Bangladesh, with his last appearance coming against the same opposition during the 2023 ODI World Cup in India.

"ODI captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz is in good health but will undergo further assessment tomorrow to determine his fitness for the third game," the BCB said in a statement.