The Bangladesh all-rounder, Soumya Sarkar is in complete awe of the former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly. Like the legendary cricketer, the Tigers’ southpaw is also a left-handed batsman and right-arm medium pacer. Soumya is currently one of Bangladesh’s gun top-order batsmen across formats.
The Satkhira-born used to watch his hero, Ganguly and was amazed by cover drives of the latter and the lofted shots over the spinners’ heads. During his playing days, Sourav used to give nightmare to the left-arm spinners, dancing down the track with grace and elegance.
ALSO READ: RP Singh spills the beans on ‘unbiased’ Dhoni and his captaincy
Talking about the same to bdnews24, Sarkar said, “My life’s first cricket hero was Sourav Ganguly. One day my brother said, ‘You will be a left-handed batsman like Ganguly and bowl right-arm medium pace’. I’m not a natural left-hander, I started it after my brother’s advice. I used to watch Sourav play on TV along with my brother. That time, an India-Pakistan game had a separate fanbase. While growing up, I became a fan of his cover-drive. And hitting the spinners by stepping out was incredible.”
Soumya got to meet Ganguly during an Under-17 tour to Kolkata. However, the youngster didn’t have the courage to talk to him and rather, looked at him with utter astonishment. Sarkar also became an ardent follower of Yuvraj Singh, who was known for his attacking batting which impressed Sarkar to a great extent.
Talking about him, Sarkar said, “After growing up, Yuvraj Singh became my favorite cricketer. I loved his aggressive style of batting from the word go. He used to change the course of the game pretty quickly. He didn’t spare anyone and was fearless. Even I wish to play like him.”
ALSO READ: Mitchell Santner Recalled When MS Dhoni Fought With Umpires
Soumya said that Yuvraj had an impeccable sense of timing and called him a selfless cricketer, who put the team first ahead of his personal goals. He used to like Yuvraj’s bowling, fielding, his body language on the field. Sarkar also remembers the day when Yuvraj motivated him to do well.
