Uncapped all-rounder Soumya Sarker on Monday said that he was surprised to get a call-up to the national team but was now looking forward to performing if given a chance.
Soumya, a hard-hitting opener and a useful seamer, was named in the Bangladesh squad on Monday for the one-off Twenty20 international replacing spinner Elias Sunny from the ODI squad.
‘I am surprised,’ Soumya candidly admitted in front of the media at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.
‘Because I was called up there is a possibility for me to play. In the next two days I will try to prove my worth in practice that will help me get an opportunity in the playing XI,’ he said after completing his first practice session with the Tigers.
‘Every player dreams of featuring in the national team and I am feeling very excited about it,’ he added.
Soumya said that opener Tamim Iqbal inspired him to play aggressively during his BKSP days.
‘In my early days I played a lot of tape-tennis cricket where I used to play power cricket,’ he said.
‘During my BKSP days some matches of the [Dhaka] league took place at BKSP where Tamim used to play very aggressively.
‘Though I don’t follow [Tamim] but I like the way [Chris] Gayle and Yuvraj [Singh] bat,’ he added.
Soumya came to the selectors’ thoughts after he smashed a double century against Qatar last year in June during the Under-19 Asia Cup in Malaysia.
-With New Age input
