Bangladesh looking at Soumya Sarkar as an option, says coach Nic Pothas

After the one-off Test match between Bangladesh and Afghanistan, both the teams are gearing up to take each other on in the white-ball series as they play three ODIs and two T20Is. As the hosts look to announce the squad for the white-ball series soon, head coach Chandika Hathurusingha wants Soumya Sarkar to be included.

It is worth noting that Sarkar has not featured for Bangladesh since the 2022 T20I World Cup as his subpar performances in the tournament led to him being dropped. However, Hathurusingha has asked the national team selection panel to include Sarkar in the three-day preparation camp ahead of the series.

Bangladesh’s assistant coach Nick Pothas is of a similar opinion, stating that the team wants to give people opportunities and does not want the players to feel like "outsiders."

"I think again it's been a case of giving people opportunity, we don't want people to feel like they're outside of the group," Nic Pothas told reporters outside the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Saturday, June 24. 

Furthermore, Pothas also stated that he has not seen Sarkar bat at his best since some time and therefore his inclusion in the preparation camp is an observational period for the batter. 

"I am not sure (how Soumya is batting) because I have only seen him at his best on TV a long time ago. For us now, it is an observation period. We want him to relax and play because we know he is very good. But I have only seen him three times at the net under no pressure. And that's not enough time to have an opinion of him. So, I have to take time to observe him. He has obviously batted at the top of the order before. But this is a conversation with the head coach we have not had yet. At the moment, it is really the beginning of the observation phase," Pothas said.