Soumya, Shoriful make World Cup squad as Tigers head to Australia

GBNEWS24DESK//

The form of a few players had raised concerns as Bangladesh gear up for the T20I World Cup in Australia, which starts tomorrow although the Tigers will not play until October 24, and with reports of imminent changes to the World Cup squad, chief selector Minhajul Abedin spoke yesterday noon about that aspect before flying for Australia.

Late yesterday, the cut-off date for any final changes, the BCB announced that Soumya Sarkar and Shoriful Islam had replaced Sabbir Rahman and Mohammad Saifuddin in the World Cup squad

Although the team management have run several experiments recently to fine-tune their combinations, the performances of Sabbir, Saifuddin, Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mustafizur Rahman had been of concern.

Sabbir and Mehedi Hasan Miraz opened the innings starting with the Asia Cup match against Sri Lanka but the opening combination was changed quite a few times during the tri-nation series in New Zealand.

Sabbir appeared in the first game of the tri-nation series against Pakistan but was dropped for the rest of the tournament. Shanto and Soumya Sarkar were tried in the opening slots as Mehedi also made way following the second game in the series.

Sabbir, who scored just 31 runs in four matches since his return to the national team, visibly underperformed. Although the chief selector talked to the media before the changes were announced, he said the responsibility of settling into the side lay with the players first and foremost.

“We had a plan from before the Asia Cup about which player would be played where. From that regard, we discussed using Sabbir at the top. You also have to look at the player, not just the team management and selectors. Players have the most responsibility because they are the ones out on the field. In the T20 format, there is no scope to blink. Concentration and self-assessment are very important. If a player can’t prepare himself of his own accord, it’s very difficult to settle [in the team],” Minhajul said.

Soumya has not looked very settled either in his two matches so far, struggling with the pace. But technical consultant Sridharan Sriram had backed his intent a day before and yesterday Soumya replaced Sabbir. There was no clarity on how much the team management could judge from his performances as was indicated in Minhajul’s words.

“It’s not good to judge a player based on two matches. But given the situation, it’s difficult to focus on someone in a big way. We have to ensure we play well and that our approach is positive.”

Meanwhile, Saifuddin had leaked runs with the ball and Shoriful, despite initially being a stand-by, impressed just enough.