Soumya Sarkar is nothing short of a mystery. He has the ability to score quickly, hit towering sixes, and seems like the perfect T20 batsman. Yet, his record in the format tells a different story. The numbers don’t reflect his potential. Even his strike rate, one of the most critical aspects of T20 batting, isn’t impressive.
Forget the national team; even in domestic and franchise T20 leagues, Soumya doesn’t have many noteworthy performances. However, the recently concluded Global Super League in Guyana stands out as an exception. Soumya emerged as the tournament’s top run-scorer, the Player of the Final, and the Player of the Series. Could this tournament be the long-awaited turning point in Soumya’s T20 career?
Let’s take a look at Soumya’s performance in the league. He scored 188 runs in 5 matches at a strike rate of 142.42, the highest among batsmen with at least 100 runs in the tournament. He also topped the batting averages with 47. His tally included 9 sixes, the most in the competition. For Soumya, this level of consistency is unusual in his T20 career.
In the first match, he scored 27 runs off 20 balls. In the second game against Australia’s Victoria, he hit a 50 off 39 balls, although his team lost both matches. The third game against the host team Amazon Warriors was the only time he failed, scoring just 2 runs. However, he bounced back with 22 off 13 balls in the next match against Lahore. In the final, played today in Providence, Soumya was unstoppable, smashing an unbeaten 86 off 54 balls against Victoria. All in all, this was likely the best T20 tournament of his career so far.
For comparison, Soumya’s best T20 performance for Bangladesh was the series against Zimbabwe in 2021, where he won the Player of the Match award in two games and was named Player of the Series. Yet, when you look at his overall record, that series feels like an isolated event. In 85 T20Is, Soumya averages just 17.60 with a strike rate of 122.75. He hasn’t scored a fifty in his last 28 innings. Even across all T20 formats, his average is below 20, and his strike rate is under 120.
A closer look at his Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) record paints an even grimmer picture. In 99 BPL matches, Soumya averages 18.07 with a strike rate of 113. While it’s true that scoring runs in the BPL is often challenging, Litton Das has managed a respectable strike rate of 127 in the same league. Given Soumya’s talent and potential, one would expect him to perform at least as well as Litton.
Soumya is likely aware of his underwhelming stats, which is why he considers his performance in the Global Super League a potential turning point. After receiving the Player of the Series award, he said, “Thanks to Rangpur Riders for giving me this opportunity. This was my first global tournament, and I believe it’s one of the turning points of my career.”
Soumya won’t have to wait long to capitalize on this newfound form. Tomorrow, he is set to play for Bangladesh in St. Kitts. While it’s a different format, the similar conditions could work in his favor, and Bangladesh will be hoping for him to shine.
In ODIs, Soumya has been somewhat more consistent. In the recent series against Afghanistan, he got starts in all three games, scoring 33, 35, and 24. Though he hasn’t converted these into big scores, he has been providing solid starts for the team.
Considering Soumya’s potential, these innings are far from satisfying. However, if his unbeaten 86 in the Global Super League final does become a genuine turning point in his career, it would be a significant gain for Bangladesh cricket.
