Sports Desk

As Rangpur Riders held their training session at the M A Aziz Stadium on Thursday, all eyes were on Soumya Sarkar.

The southpaw was having a fantastic time with the bat in the West Indies both with Rangpur Riders in Global Super League (GSL) and the national cricket team’s white-ball series before sustaining a finger injury a month ago during the second T20Is.

He was the top scorer in GSL playing a vital role behind Rangpur Rider’s triumph including a blistering 86-run innings in the all-important final against Victoria.

The finger injury has kept Soumya out of the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) so far. Rangpur, even though having won seven out of their seven matches, have surely missed the presence of the southpaw. And it was evident in Thursday’s training.

“We’ve missed you, great to have you back,” Rangpur coach Mickey Arthur welcomed him in the team huddle before the practice began.

Soumya seemed happy too, of course. For a player it must be really tough who was scoring runs for fun and then missing out a month of exciting cricket due to injury.

“It always feels good to return to the field. It’s definitely a good feeling to be back after such a long time. I had a solo practice earlier, and today is the second day. It feels great to do it with Rangpur Riders. As a cricketer, returning to the field is always a satisfying experience,” Soumya told Daily Sun.

“The condition (of my finger) is improving day by day,” Soumya said regarding the present condition of his injury.

Soumya had a rather cautious day in the training.  After warming up, he did some shadow batting for a while before doing catching practice with a soft ball. He did feel a bit uncomfortable throwing with the cricket ball so he stuck with the soft ball for the day.

“I started today (with soft ball catching and throwing). Everything follows a process, and I’m adhering to that. Initially, I’m adjusting with a softball for now. If I start with a hard ball right away and something goes wrong, it could backfire. I’m trying to improve gradually, following the process,” Soumya said.

Later he did some batting in the nets against the spin bowlers. He played a few shots, looking a bit rusty at times. When asked how he felt while batting, Soumya said, “It’s only the first day. Not that bad but it will take some time.”

Returning from injury can disrupt a batter’s form, but Soumya said he will give his everything to pick up from where he left off.

“I’m still where I was (before the injury, in good form). I’m recovering now. With God’s grace, I’ll try to pick up where I left off,” Soumya said with some confidence.

The biggest question now arising is when Soumya will make his return to competitive cricket. Will he play in the ongoing Chattogram phase for Rangpur Riders or will he need a bit more time to get fully recovered?

Soumya isn’t hurrying anything.

“I’m sticking to my process and consulting with the physio. I’ll also inform the BCB physio about my updates. The faster I adjust, the quicker I can recover. My job is to practice, while they handle mobilization and other tasks. Together, the quicker I recover, the sooner I’ll return to the field,” he said when asked about the possible time of his return.

After the BPL, Bangladesh national team will participate in the ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan and UAE. Soumya will be a part of that campaign. When asked how he or the other players will adjust with the change of format in almost no time, Soumya said, “It’s just about making a mental shift that this is a 20-over game, and that’s a 50-over one. We’ve been playing these formats since childhood. A few practice sessions should make it easier. The mental shift is the most important thing.”

When asked regarding his personal goal in the Champions Trophy, Soumya said, “That’s still far away. For now, the biggest target is to recover completely.”