Soumya Sarkar plans to play with patience at CWC 2019
Since making his international debut in December 2014, Sarkar has scored just two one-day international centuries in 40 innings. Despite crossing 20 runs 24 times in ODI cricket, he has recorded just nine fifty-plus scores.
In the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2015, he had 20-plus scores in all five innings, but went on to score a half-century – 51 against New Zealand – on just one occasion. Now, he's determined to make amends.
Soumya Sarkar, 51 vs New Zealand
"I was new in this [international] arena at that time," he told presspersons on Thursday, 28 March. "If I get the opportunity this year, there will certainly be a good plan in place for the tournament.
"In many matches, I went out for 30 or 40. So I need to overcome this situation and plan accordingly. Probably I failed to manage [back in 2015], but I learned many things."
Sarkar has already displayed the will to take his time and build the innings with his knock in the Tests against New Zealand earlier this year. The 26-year-old scored a patient 149 – his maiden Test century – in the series opener in Hamilton, and spent 255 minutes at the crease.
"My aim was to survive," he had said after that knock. "If I had hurried against this type of bowling, I think it would have negatively impacted me and the team ... Once I was set, I tried to play [the ball] on merit."
Sarkar is a naturally aggressive batsman who likes to take on the bowlers – his ODI strike-rate of 98.60 is testament to that. However, he is now learning to adapt to the situation and bat as per its demands. ''Maybe the plan will be different. I played freely as a junior cricketer, but now I can't play like this and will feel pressure," he admitted.
"However, I will try to execute my international experience after going there [to the World Cup]. I will try to keep my courage which I showed before in the World Cup or Champions Trophy. I've been thinking [about] how my team will suffer if I throw my wicket away."